When Life Turns Around
by EmberRain2010
Summary: Batman encounters a strange girl, who has the ability to change from human to wolf and back again, when he sees her injured he takes her to Wayne manor and tends to her wounds, but what happens when she's better? and what will Dick think? please review
1. Introductions

Seeing the arrow a moment too late the wolf tried to dodge to the right but she felt the head of the arrow pierce the skin of

Seeing the arrow a moment too late the wolf tried to dodge to the right but she felt the head of the arrow pierce the skin of her chest, and heard the "Thump" of it nestling into her muscles as well as the slight crunch of the metal head embedding its self into a bone. Upon hearing the wolfs yelp of pain the man holding the bow laughed, they were in an ally way where the man had been counting money he had recently stolen from a bank around the corner. The wolf growled and stood, having fallen over from the force of impact, she lunged at the man knowing that bows and arrows were no good at close quarters, she clenched her jaws around his bow arm first as he fell from her jumping on him. Letting out a grunt of pain the man hit the wolf on top of her head with his fist several times, until finally she released him. Staggering backwards the wolf realized there was something wrong other then the arrow in her chest, her senses were dimming, and her vision swam, she staggered again as the man stood holding his shoulder but laughing,

" You can feel my poison taking affect can't you? Within an the hour you will be dead, and no one will have to worry about the "Gothem Wolf" again." The wolf shook her head to clear it and lunged again this time clamping her jaws around his leg, she let go when she heard a satisfying crack.

When she backed from the man she saw him holding his leg and trying to refrain from calling out in pain, then he looked up and he did call out, but it was out of fear

" The Bat!" he scrambled back and the wolf looked up to see what looked like a giant bat soaring towards them, she knew that she was no longer needed so she turned and headed out of the dark ally. Stopping in a neighboring ally the wolf collapsed near the wall of a tall building panting slightly. She decided it would be better to be in her human form if she was found so she changed, now lying in the place where the black wolf had been was a teenage girl, with waist-length black hair, green eyes, she was slim but not starving and she had an arrow shaft extending from her upper chest above her left breast. Fading fast Rain knew she didn't have much of a chance, and then she saw the swish of a black cape and heard the soft fall of feet. Raising her head slightly she saw the man dressed as a giant bat before she lost consciousness.

Batman broke the shaft of the arrow protruding from the young girls chest before picking her up and gently placing her in his car, which was narrow and covered in black armor, getting in beside her he pulled away from the ally and headed, quit fast, towards a forest on the outskirts of Gothem, soon they were headed straight for a large water fall, but instead of crashing they went right through and landed in a huge cave. Batman stopped the car in the middle of the cave and got out,

" Alfred!" he called up the stone steps as he gathered the girl up in his arms, when he looked up he saw an old British man coming down the stairs looking concerned,

" What's wrong master Bruce?" he asked but then stopped as he caught sight of the girl, " Oh my, what has happened to her?" he asked moving out of the way as Bruce headed up the stairs,

" She's been poisoned." Was his reply as he walked through the door at the top, Alfred following him. Bruce led the way to a bedroom on the second floor and gently laid her on the bed, " She was hit by a poisoned arrow, I need some tweezers, disinfectant, and bandages." Alfred hurried out of the room and was back a minuet later holding the things Bruce needed. Taking them he laid the bandages and disinfectant on a small table beside the bed before using the tweezers the work what was left of the arrow out of her chest, when he finally pulled it out he put in on one of the bandages and handed it to his butler, " I need you to analyze this and get an antidote for the poison." Alfred nodded and left Bruce to tend the wound.

When Alfred returned with a hypodermic needle and hour later the girl was under the blankets, and from what he could see she was no longer wearing a shirt, Bruce was sitting beside her with a cool rag on her forehead. Seeing Alfred, Bruce stood up and took the needle, which he then gently inserted into her neck, hoping it wasn't too late.

Over the next day and a half Alfred and Bruce took it in turns to check on her every hour.

" W-what happened?" she asked her self quietly feeling something warm and soft over her, opening her eyes she remembered seeing the Batman and everything going dark, now she looked at the room, it was an average sized room with light brown walls, against the far wall she spotted a large book case and to her left was a large window, directly across from her was a door like the one to her right, but other then that, the bed and a little table beside it, the room was empty. Pushing her self up so she could lean against the wall she let out a small gasp as pain shot through the left side of her chest. There was a metallic click and an old man dressed in a butler's uniform entered. Seeing her awake the man smiled warmly,

" I'm glad to see you awake young miss, gave us quite a fright you did." She returned the smile and recognized a British accent,

" Where am I? " she asked looking out the large window on her left,

" You are in the Wayne manor." He replied kindly and moved forward, she looked up at him,

" Wayne manor? But how-?"

" Did you get here? Batman brought you here after you were poisoned, he knew that Mr.Wayne had the means to make an antidote." He placed the tray he was holding on the table beside the bed, on it was a glass that appeared to contain water and beside it, two pills. She looked at the tray then back at him, " Master Bruce told me to give you these when you woke up." He held the pills and glass of water out to her, she reached out and took them, but gave the water a sniff before looking up at the man,

" What are they for?" she asked stiffly,

" They will help make sure the poison is gone from you're system." He answered confidently. Nodding she took the two pills and drank all the water, after a few seconds she felt a little dizzy and looked up at him again, " there is also a powerful sedative in the water," he saw her body slowly relax and her eyes flutter shut, " sleep well." And with that he swept from the room taking the glass and the tray.

Hours later Rain woke with a slight groan, when she opened her eyes she saw that it was night, and looking around she realized why she hadn't detected the drug in her water, her senses were dulled, ' probably from the poison.' She thought to her self. Pushing her self up gingerly, hearing movement on her right she looked 'round to see a young man of about 25 stirring in his sleep in a hard wooden chair. She froze and watched him as he lifted his chin from his chest and looked up at her, not yet realizing she was awake due to the darkness. She could barely make out his features but knew that he must be Bruce Wayne, relaxing slightly she watched him gaze out the window for a moment or two before speaking,

" Thank you, Mr.Wayne." he jumped slightly and looked at her,

" Oh, ah, you're welcome."

"My name's Rain," she hesitated before continuing but hopped he hadn't caught it, " Wolf." Bruce caught the hesitation but pretended he didn't,

" It's nice to meet you Ms.Wolf. " he smiled " how do you feel?"

" Drugged." She said truthfully with some bitterness in her voice. Her body had the lingering sensation you get after being sedated. He looked down,

" Sorry about that, but it was necessary." She scoffed and moved into a more comfy position, he didn't look up but stood,

" Well I should go to bed, and let you relax, good night Ms.Wolf." he headed for the door,

" Call me Rain, and good night Mr. Wayne." she told him as he stepped out of the room, he nodded to show her he had heard before closing the door.


	2. Wolf Sighting

Over the next week Rain didn't see Bruce Wayne much, but she talked with Alfred and forgave him for their first encounter. By Friday night the wound had healed, Alfred was amazed at how quickly it had become a neat little scar, rain had just smiled and said,

" I've always been a really fast healer."

" I have heard of people that heal quite fast, and I daresay they are very lucky." He smiled as she got up,

" Well I think I should go."

" Go? Whatever do you mean?"

" Go home, I can't stay here, it's beautiful and everything but I belong in the city." He gave her a knowing smile,

" I see young miss, well would you like a ride? " she shook her head,

" No, thank-you, I think the walk will do me some good." He nodded

" Very well, but at least take this." He handed her a black watch,

" Thank-you Alfred." She took it and put in on her left wrist before heading out.

She had ran through the small forest separating the mansion and the city in her wolf form, but turned back into a human just before emerging from the cover of the trees. When she returned to her normal ally her few possessions were gone, but she didn't really care, the things that were taken weren't very important to her anyway. Sitting against the wall Rain thought about what it was like to have someone care for her, let alone love her, she couldn't remember the exact date, all she knew was that it was about ten years ago, maybe only nine, she didn't know, she stopped keeping track a long time ago.

Rain sat with her back pressed against the wall for most of the day before deciding she should find a different spot to sleep.

" Give me all your money!" Rain had been sleeping in a corner of a dead-end ally when she heard a man shouting. Looking up she saw a man pointing a gun at a little girl, who was standing between her shaking parents, her mother was digging in her purse and her father his wallet, Rain transformed into her wolf form and moved into the dim light growling at the man with the gun,

" You dare hold a child at gun point?" she asked using telepathy. The man jumped startled and watched the progressing wolf, her black fur standing on end, and sharp fangs bared.

The frightened family drew closer together as the man turned his gun on the wolf, he didn't understand what just happened, those words had come to his mind, but he didn't think them, since the wolf was the only newcomer he guessed it had "spoken" to him directly into his mind. He had heard of it from other people who had come face to fang with the Gothem Wolf, they all said that words came to their mind without them thinking it as the wolf drew nearer to them, then it happened again as it left after injuring them just enough so that they couldn't get away before the cops showed up.

Rain stopped four feet in front of the man and growled, he prepared to fire his gun, but before he could actually fire the wolf leapt and took him to the ground with a dull thud, and grunt of pain mixed with her growls. Once she had satisfactorily sunk her teeth in his thigh she moved back from him, she saw he had his jaw clenched and a hand on his bleeding leg with the other one supporting him. Turning away Rain looked at the family, she could feel the mans blood drip from her fangs and she licked it off, but she knew that it was the wrong thing to do when she saw the fathers sudden movement towards her, before she could dodge she felt something hard collide with the side of her head and force her body sideways to the ground. She didn't hear her yelp of pain but knew that she had yelped. Feeling the ground beneath her body she opened her eyes, her head was throbbing and she could feel blood moving slowly through her fur, Rain saw the fathers feet in front of her then she noticed the little girl was being restrained by her mother behind him. Slowly Rain raised her head, then her body and staggered to her feet with her ears down and looked at the little girl who had stopped struggling and was watching her, Rains vision was swimming as she looked up into the mans face and told him using her telepathy,

" I wont hurt you or your family, now please go home." Rain sat unable to stand up any longer. The man looked at her amazed and nodded before turning to his wife and telling her they should go, at this point the girl broke free of her mother's slackened grip and ran past both her parents to the still bleeding wolf where she went down on her knees and wrapped her arms around Rains neck, Rain leaned into the girls hug and gently licked the side of her face. Pulling Back the girl smiled and rain inclined her head slightly, before the girl went back to her parents, who were watching with wide eyes, she slipped a necklace from around her neck and slid it over Rains instead then turned and went with her parents out of the ally and onto the main street. Getting the feeling she was being watched Rain looked around, the man had managed to crawl onto the main street where other men had hurriedly pulled him up and helped him into the back of a black van, she could smell someone, or something that she recognized but couldn't place, seeing that she was indeed alone she went back to the corner she had been sleeping in and turned back into her human form.

In the morning Rain looked at the necklace that the little girl gave her and saw that the pendent was shaped like an arrowhead, ('Ironic' She thought) and it had a wolf howling engraved into it. Smiling she got up and stretched her stiff muscles before looking around the ally, she saw the dried blood from the night before and sighed putting her hand to the tender spot on her head, the cut that had been there healed over night, but her head was still sore. Stepping over the blood she headed for the main street and wondered what she should do that day.


	3. BackUp

By sun set Rain was feeling ready for some action, and something in her gut told her tonight would be chalked full of it, so she went to her favorite place to ready herself for whatever the night had in store, sitting on a large rock in Gothem Park, few people knew that the rock was there due to several willow trees positioned conveniently around it, but there was a clear space between two of the trees about halfway up so that the western sky could be seen clearly, Rain loved sitting here on warm summer evenings, so she could watch the sunset in peace. The sky was bright orange and slowly deepening to a dark red, she watched as the few puffy white clouds turned from gold to pink, she loved the sunset, it was her favorite time of the day. Once the sun was all the way down and the sky was turning deep blue she stood up and started walking towards the heart of the city.

Rain walked for half and hour and came to a stop outside the town hall, ' or is it called a city hall?' she wondered but turned her attention to the sounds coming to her through the walls, they were faint even to her superior hearing, it sounded like screaming, but before she could come to a conclusion the doors were thrown open and people were running out. Stepping into the shadows Rain watched the people running and screaming, when the flow of people thinned she transformed and peeked around the door, she saw several men dressed in black and equipped with semiautomatic hand guns, and standing on the top of the stairs leading to a balcony that went all the way around the large room was a tall man wearing a purple suit and a matching fedora hat, which was tilted in a way that made it impassible for her to see his face. Rain wasn't sure what she should do, she usually left things like this to Batman, but as far as she could see he wasn't there.

With the swish of soft material Batman jumped from a corner of the vast room and landed gracefully in the middle of the group of men, who all started shooting, Rain sighed in relief and looked at the man in the purple suit who had started laughing. His laugh was high pitched and almost hysterical, he looked up and Rain knew who he was. The mans face was so pale it was almost as white as a clean sheet of paper, save for two spots, one on each cheek, that were about the size of a small egg each and were pink, his mouth was curved up into a large and almost comical grin, his lips were bright red, and his eyes gave him the look of a truly insane person, they were wide and slightly blood shot. The Joker, everyone knew, was Batman's archenemy, and was very dangerous. Keeping to the shadows, which wasn't very difficult because one of the men shot out the lights, Rain moved along the wall of the room, she watched Batman fighting the men, every time he threw them off him he was rained on by bullets, but they didn't seem to have any affect on him. Once past the men Batman made his way up the steps toward The Joker avoiding the wind up chattering teeth on the way, and Rain saw why when one hit a railing support and exploded, soon Batman made it to the top and was fighting The Joker in close quarters. Neither seemed to be able to damage the other though, every move Batman made was perfectly countered by The Joker. Laughing menacingly The Joker cackled,

" What's the matter Batsy? I thought the dark was supposed to improve your vision." At this Batman growled jumping back from The Joker landing on the railing fifteen feet away. But the instant before he landed one of the men still conscious on the ground floor shot his gun, hitting him in the crook of his arm, instantly Batman fell sideways as blood began to flow.

Rain was shocked when she Batman go over the side of the railing, but she recovered herself quickly, growling she leapt on the man swiftly sinking her fangs as far as they would go into the mans throat killing him. From there Rain darted up the steps and turned towards the place that she knew Batman had fallen, she saw the back of a purple suited man wearing a fedora, Rain moved closer and listened,

" So the Bat isn't invincible after all. Too bad you didn't bring back up, well, to bad for you anyway."

Laughing he pulled out a rubber chicken and pressed a button on its stomach that made its beak grown long and sharp, Rain growled alerting The Joker of her presence, but before he could turn around she leapt onto his back.

Before she could sink her teeth into his neck however he allowed himself to fall backwards on top of her. Rolling off he stood once again and turned his chicken knife towards her as she stood with her teeth barred and hackles raised ready to strike, " so you did bring back up, eh Batsy? And the Gothem wolf no less, interesting, did you trade the bird in for the wolf?" Rain snarled and spared a glance to look at Batman, he was still breathing, but he was bleeding badly. Looking back at The Joker she realized she shouldn't have looked at Batman, The Joker had advanced on her and was poised to strike,

'He's fast.' She thought as she moved, not quite fast enough, out of the way of the down coming blade, it cut deep into her right shoulder sinking right to the bone, and just to add to it The Joker twisted the knife as he withdrew it. Rain growled her frustration as she dodged the blade this time successfully avoiding its sharp edge, causing the blade to sink right into the floor making The Joker momentarily exposed. Taking her chance she jumped, placing her front paws on each of his shoulders and forcing him over. Ready to sink her teeth into his warm neck Rain opened her jaws, but before she reached his neck something was forced upward through her body. When she jumped on The Joker he was still holding the handle of his knife and the force of the two of them had pulled it from the floor and she hadn't noticed, and now she was paying the price. The Joker laughed and pressed the button on the chicken making the blade grow longer causing it to go all the way through the wolfs body, grinning more broadly he twisted it before pushing her off, she fell onto her side as more blood seeped to the floor. Standing The Joker looked at the doomed wolf, then the bat, narrowing his eyes her turned back to the wolf and pulled his knife, that was now the length of a short sword, from her gut and stood over Batman, he positioned the end of the blade over Batman's throat ready to strike, but before he could he was hit by something heavy from the wall side and he was thrown into the railing, breaking it he fell, looking up he saw the wolfs head sticking out over the edge, looking down he saw a few of his men crowd below him, then they were around him, they had caught him. Hearing the sirens out side The Joker barked his retreat orders and him and his men disappeared.

Rain went to Batman and gently nudged him listening closely, she heard a slight groan and she turned back into her human form knowing she would be more help that way. Grabbing his right arm she pulled him up ignoring her own pain, she half carried him down the stairs, but not wanting to deal with the police she took him out the back door. It was chilly outside, but the coolness was welcome to her burning and stinging wounds, staggering slightly from the extra weight of the man that was nearly twice her size she made her way down the ally and around a corner out of sight of the door incase anyone looked out of it. Leaning against the wall and breathing hard Rain tried to think of a place she could take them, and then Batman used his left hand and pulled something out from under his cape, it looked like a tiny tape recorder, it had two buttons on it, one was light coloured and looked like a horizontal oval, the other was black and perfectly round, he pressed the oval button and it started to blink yellow. Rain frowned when she heard the low hum of an engine mixed with Batman's shallow breathing, looking down the ally she saw the source of the sound, it was a narrow black armored car, it had two vertical wings at the back that made it look like a race car. Rain watched as the car come to a stop right in front of them and the door nearest them, which was the drivers side, opened. Helping Batman into the drivers seat she went around and got in the passenger side, she watched as Batman pressed a few buttons and said in a deep and slightly raspy voice,

" The Cave." The car gave a lurch and she realized he put the car into autopilot. Looking at him she saw that he was very pale,

'He's lost so much blood!' she thought worriedly, 'at this rate he won't make it.' Without thinking she reached across his chest and placed her hand over the wound, she felt him stiffen and knew what he was about to ask,

" What are you doing?"

" I'm going to try and heal you, or at least stop the bleeding." She answered a little distractedly " please sit still." He did as she asked and watched her close her eyes as she concentrated on the heavily bleeding wound. After a moment the bleeding slowed, then stopped, he looked at her hand, which was shaking, then back at her face, he saw her shudder slightly and felt her hand fall away, her breathing was ragged and uneven, she slumped momentarily on his uninjured arm then straightened herself opening her eyes. Moments later the car stopped and the engine cut out, they both looked out their windows and saw that they were in a large cave. They heard the drives side door open and both looked over, Rain was surprised to see Alfred, but Batman, it seemed, was not. Alfred saw her in the passenger seat and gasped but turned his attention the Batman,

" Sir, what happened?" but before Batman could answer Rain blurted angrily,

" There's no time for that right now, he needs medical attention now." Alfred looked at her and nodded, before helping Batman out of the car, Rain got out as well but nearly fell over because her head started to spin, she was very dizzy, but she pushed the feeling aside and went around to Batman's other side pulling his arm around her shoulders Alfred led the way up a long stair case and through a door, they entered a large room with a piano and an expensive rug, Alfred led the way through another door and down a hall way before opening a door revealing a large bedroom, together they laid Batman on the bed. Alfred then went to retrieve the medical supplies and saw that Rain was also injured, but when he inquired she told him to see to Batman first. When Rain looked back down at the bed on which they had placed Batman, she saw Bruce Wayne's pained face on top of Batman's body. She blinked and swayed slightly on the spot, but she wasn't as surprised as most people would have been, she knew she recognized his scent when she had first met him as Bruce Wayne.

Rain sat on the bed so she wouldn't fall over and looked up when she heard the door open, she expected to see Alfred's old kind face, but instead she saw a handsome young man, he was tall with dark hair and hazel eyes, he stopped when he saw her and frowned slightly, but he caught sight of Bruce and went to the small table beside the bed and put down the things he was holding, which Rain saw were bandages, tweezers, disinfectant and a small box about half the size of a shoe box. Before he could ask Rain anything Alfred entered the room carrying a basin of warm water, he also placed this on the table, then he turned to Rain,

" Master Dick shall tend to your wounds while I see to Master Bruce, now please lie down." Rain slowly nodded and lied down on the huge bed beside Bruce, she was relieved to be able to lie down, closing her eyes she allowed her body to relax, but regretted it afterwards, once she relaxed her muscles she could feel the stinging pain of her wounds and the stiffness of her muscles now that the adrenaline was gone and she stopped fighting the pain, but she laid still anyway.

Dick took a knife and cut her shirt open so he had access to her wounds then dipped a clean cloth into the basin of warm water and rung it out before gently washing the deep wound on the strange girls back, he watched for her reaction when he first placed the wet material to her wound, but was surprised when she didn't move. Shrugging slightly he continued cleaning the first injury, then moved to the one farther down her back, it was slightly off center and hadn't damaged her spinal-cord,

'That's lucky.' He thought as he got to work on it.

Soon he was finished cleaning and went over to the table which was on the other side of the bed and brought the box over, he placed it on the bed beside her and opened it, he pulled out a needle, and some cord like thread, he saw her eyes grow wide with recognition, and he knew that she must have had stitches before. Preparing the needle he looked at the second wound and asked

" How bad is the other side?" She thought for a moment then shook her head slightly,

" I don't know I didn't really get to look at it." He nodded and warned her that the needle would hurt, since he couldn't freeze it, and began stitching the wounds. When he was done with the two on her back he asked her to roll over so he could see the one in her gut, she did so and instead of cutting her shirt he pulled it up so he could see the wound,

" Hmm, I'll have to stitch this one as well." She sighed at his words,

"I was afraid you would say that." She looked over at Bruce, his eyes were closed, and his breathing was back to normal, Alfred had just finished putting a bandage over the wound and was clearing away the things that were no longer needed. Dick saw her looking at Bruce and frowned wondering why he felt so secure revealing his identity to this girl, but he trusted Bruce's judgment so he didn't say anything. Fifteen minuets later Dick was clearing away the rest of the medical supplies as his patient lay quietly just on the border of sleep and wakefulness.

" My name's Rain, by the way." She said quietly, and he looked over and smiled,

" I'm Richard, but my friends call me Dick, it's nice to meet you Rain." She smiled and closed her eyes; he knew she drifted off to sleep when he left the room to put the medical supplies away, but he came back a few minuets later with a blanket in his arms. Covering Rain in the blanket he smiled and went to his own room.


	4. Old Acquaintances, New Friends

The sun was high in the sky before Rain rose the next day, she woke up slowly not wanting to move, she ached all over and didn't want to get up, not to mention the bed was soft and warm, but her stomach had other plans. After the third loud growl admitted from her stomach Rain got up and stretched, she was aware that Bruce was no longer in the bed before she had opened her eyes, and at that moment she was kind of glad that he wasn't in the room because she had forgotten that the back of her shirt was ripped all the way down and after she stretched and put her arms down it slid off her shoulders and fell to the floor. With a slight yelp of embarrassment she knelt down and snatched it from the floor before sliding it back over her shoulders, but she put it on backwards so she could hold it closed then she saw a white T-shirt sitting folded neatly beside where she had been laying and put it on smiling. Now she made her way out of the room and followed the sweet smell of bacon that filled the hallway to a door at the very end, she could hear voices on the other side and she stopped and listened when she heard her name.

" Rain Wolf's parents were murdered almost ten years ago, right in front of her, two years later they found the body of the man responsible, he had bite marks on his right arm and his neck."

" You don't think that she…?" a second voice said when the first paused,

" Well the police thought she might have had something to do with it, they brought her in for questioning the next day." He answered the unfinished question with a sigh. There was a pause and Rain listened, as the men seemed to be in deep thought, then the second voice started,

" I met her before, years ago, before our parents deaths. We met at the circus, I remember her eyes, emerald green…" he stopped talking and Rain decided it was safe for her to enter, pushing open the door she stepped in giving no hint she heard what they were saying a moment before, smiling she sat down between Bruce and Dick,

" Morning." She chirped cheerily,

" Morning Rain," Dick smiled as Alfred placed a plate laden with bacon, eggs and toast in front of her.

They talked as they ate, Rain pointed out to Bruce that he should do something about the small vulnerable area in the crook of his arm, where there was no armor.

After breakfast Bruce left for a meeting at Wayne industries leaving Dick and Rain alone because Alfred had gone with Bruce.

Dick stepped in to the shower shortly after Bruce and Alfred left, he was deep in thought as he washed his muscular body (that's what happens when you go around fighting evil and injustice every night, not to mention psychos -.-"), he was thinking about Rain, and about what Bruce had told him of her past, 'She couldn't have killed that guy…'he thought "Could she?" he wondered out loud as he rinsed his arms and chest. With a sigh he turned off the water and stepped out wrapping him self in a fluffy blue towel, then went down the hall out side the bathroom to his own bedroom, where he dressed, and combed his hair. Once finished Dick went down stairs still thinking about the strange girl he had met ten years before, and who's wounds he had stitched just the night before. Not paying attention to what he was doing he entered a large family room with several couches, all with one or two matching reclining chairs. Laying on one of the more comfterable couches was Rain, she was reading a book and seemed not to have notice him enter the room, so he turned to leave not wanting to disturb her but then her voice reached his ears,

" You don't have to go." She said in an almost pleading tone, he turned around and nodded,

" Alright, um… what are you reading?" he asked moving closer and sitting beside her. Rain was sitting up now and held the book up for him to see " " he frowned slightly and she glanced at the cover then laughed at her self,

" I'm sorry, I forgot you can't understand it, it's called "Our Secrets" it's been passed though my family for generations, it explains everything about being…" her voice trailed off and she stared at the floor with unfocused eyes. Dick lent over and hugged her feeling that she needed some kind of comfort, she smiled and hugged him back, " thanks, it's just, I feel so much like an outcast sometimes, like I don't belong with people." She sighed and leaned on his shoulder, he held his arm around her liking the way she fit neatly under his arm,

" I know, but don't worry, you're not alone anymore, you have Bruce, and Alfred, and you've got me." He knew it sounded corny but she didn't laugh, or criticize, she only smiled and nodded,

" Yeah."

Bruce stepped out of the car when Alfred opened the door and walked with his old friend up to the mansion doors wondering what Rain and Dick had done while he was gone, he knew that Dick had wanted to get to work on his new project, a red camaro that had some trouble turning over, but he wasn't sure if Dick would have gotten any work done on the car with Rain around, he probably didn't want to leave her all alone in the big house. Heaving a sigh he stepped over the threshold and decided he would look and see if they were in one of the large living spaces. Spotting them in the third room he tried he smiled as he stepped in, ' I guess they were tired.' He thought looking at the two, Rain was laying on the inside with her back pressed against the back of the couch and her face buried in Dicks chest, he was laying beside her with his arms around her in a comforting way, and at the same time, protective. Picking up an afghan blanket that was draped over one of the chairs Bruce put it over them and decide he would wake them up when diner was ready, he then quietly left the room closing the door behind him.

Rain felt warm and comfortable; there was a sturdy pressure against the front of her body, and a protective weight around her waist. Opening her eyes at first all she could see was blue, navy blue to be exact, blinking she realized she was looking at Dicks T-shirt and quietly sighed. It was nice lying in his strong arms; it reminded her of her dad, before he was killed, then Rain thought of what she had heard that morning, how did Bruce know about what happened? She knew he had power, and was resourceful, but she had no idea he would be able to find that information, she sighed and thought of her parents' deaths.

Flash Back…

A little girl, one of many, was sitting in a large crowd watching a family of acrobats swinging on the trapezes hanging from sturdy wooden beams attached to tall poles that were held steady by thick wires. After the act it was time to go home, but in the rush of the crowd Rain got separated from her parents and ended up on the other side of the big tent all alone. Feeling lost and confused Rain looked around for her parents hoping they had noticed her absence and came back for her, but the crowed thinned and she didn't see her parents anywhere. Then a voice came from behind her,

" Can't find your parents?" spinning around she saw a boy who was a few inches taller then her and probably two or three years older, he had dark hair and the most amazing hazel eyes. He smiled and reached his hand out, " I'll help you find them." He sounded so confident and sincere she couldn't help but trust him, so she took his hand and he led the way out of the tent. She asked him what his name was and he smiled and told her proudly, " I'm Dick, Dick Gracien, the youngest of the Gracien trapeze artists." She grinned and commented on the show,

" You guys are really good, I wish I could do that! My name's Rain by the way, Rain Wolf." He nodded to her,

" It's nice to meet you Rain, and thank you, we practice a lot, it takes a lot of skill, and you have to have perfect timing or else you'll fall." Rain nodded then yelled happily, she spotted her parents walking quickly towards them, both looking relieved, they thanked Dick for helping and headed to the car. Rain waved to Dick before she got in, and he waved back and watched as they drove off. Rain watched the scenes out side her window change as they drove back into the city. The car pulled into a large parking lot and Rain looked questioningly at her father, who was driving,

" We're going to go for diner, but we thought you might like to take the train, but you have to stay with your mom and me though, okay?" Rain looked at her mom and grinned,

" Okay daddy!" with that they got out of the car and headed for the sky train boarding station, they were on the train and moving within half-an-hour, Rain watched the buildings around the train as the sped by in a blur of gray, black, and occasionally red. Soon her mom was leading her off the train with her dad right behind them; together they walked down the street talking about the train,

" It was so fast!" Rain enthusiastically exclaimed rising a small laugh from her father and a smile from her mother, but it was short lived.

A man wearing a ragged gray jacket, at least it looked gray because it was so filthy, stepped in front of the family, his eyes were blood shot, and he smelled like liquor, his face was bony, he had sunken cheeks, and a small nose, the man also had a gun, and it was pointed right at Rain,

" Give me all your money!" his voice was horse and his words slightly slurred, but he held the gun steady as Mr. Wolf pulled out his wallet and held it out, when the man snatched it from him Rain's father made to pull her behind him but before he did there was the defining crack of a gun. Mr. Wolf's body crumpled beside his devastated daughter and wife. Mrs. Wolf watched her husband fall and held back her tears, looking up she saw the gun was now on her and there wasn't the slightest trace of remorse, or guilt in the mans scent, growling she lost control of her self and lunged forgetting the gun, forgetting everything but her dead husband and the man who was responsible. Rain screamed as there was a second earsplitting crack and her mother fell like her dad on her other side. Crying Rain fell to her knees and shook her father, but out of the corner of her eye she saw the man bend down over her mothers body and take something, when she turned her head to see, she realized he had taken her mothers necklace and purse before running away. When the police and ambulances arrived ten minuets later she was sitting in a pool of her parents' blood crying.

End of Flash Back

Rain sighed coming back to the present, she was now aware of a strange feeling in her gut and wondered what it was, but she decided she could find out some other time, right now her stomach told her it was time for diner. Pushing herself up slowly Rain crawled out from under the strong warm arms wrapped around her and over the owner of the arms, once standing she stretched looking at the sleeping man on the couch. Rain wondered about his parents' deaths, but figured he would tell her if he wanted to. She saw him start to stir and decided to wait for him to fully awaken before she went off in her search of food, she didn't have to wait long, he opened his eyes and pushed himself up into a half sitting position with his back to her, turning around he saw her as she stifled a yawn with her hand, he smiled and sat up right,

" Did you sleep good? Or was I squishing you?" he asked with a chuckle in his voice, she smiled back,

" Yeah, actually I slept really good, amazingly enough it was pretty comfortable against the back of the couch." She watched as he stretched and checked the time,

" Bruce and Alfred ought to be back by now, want to go and see where they are?" he asked looking at the door, she nodded and they set off. Dick lead the way down a set of stairs and a long hall way, he pushed open a door at the end of the hall and held it open for her, they were in the kitchen. She spotted Alfred right away, he had his back to them and she could see steam rising from the stove in front of him and wondered what he was making,

" Hey Alfred!" Dick called, causing Alfred to glance over his shoulder,

"Good evening, master Dick, and miss Rain." He greeted them before turning and placing a steaming bowl on the island like counter in the middle of the big kitchen, then he turned back to repeat the process,

" Where's Bruce?" Dick inquired hoping he didn't go to do hero stuff without him,

" He's in his study I think." Alfred turned towards them again and placed another bowl beside the first, " Could you run up and tell him diners ready?" he asked as he turned away again, Dick nodded and went to deliver the message. Rain sat in one of the stools around the island, Alfred turned and placed a third bowl on the counter and smiled, " you can go ahead and pick one." He told her she just smiled and told him she rather wait for the other two. Within minuets Dick and Bruce were sitting on either side of her, they each pulled a bowl over to them and started eating the thick red liquid Rain smiled and followed suit. Dick asked Bruce what he thought The Jokers next move was, the response he got was a slight head shake and a sigh. Rain sat quietly eating her soup and thinking about what she should do, she was so deep in her thoughts that she didn't notice when the men had addressed her until Dick whispered in her ear,

" Hey, Rain, are you okay?" she started and smiled at him,

" Sorry, I was thinking about stuff, what were you guys saying?"

" We were wondering if perhaps you would like to stay here." Rain looked at Dick for a moment and was very tempted to tell him she would love to, and it would have been true, but she smiled wanly at him and shook her head,

" No, I'm sorry I can't."

" Why not?" Dick tone was one of indignation and confusion,

" Because I belong in the city where I can help people." Her voice was apologetic, Dick had, until this point, had his body facing the center of the island counter they were sitting around, but now he turned all the way in her direction with a look of slight confusion mixed with anger on his face,

" And what do Batman and Robin do? Sit in front of the T.V. all night? I mean c'mon, we help people, you could be part of our team!" Rain shook her head again,

" You don't understand. Batman and Robin protect the city at large from the psychos who endanger the lives of many, where as I protect the many innocent families from muggers, drunks, and drug addicts, something Batman and Robin don't seem to find all that interesting, or important!" Both Bruce and Alfred were silently watching the youths both wondering the same thing, what did the witty Dick Gracien have to say to this passionate strong and independent girl who had just shot him down,

" If it weren't for Batman and Robin a lot of these people would have died ages ago! They should know better then to-" He was angry now, and it took all the restraint he could muster not to yell, Rain was also angry but she didn't bother refraining from yelling,

" Then to what?! Dick? Huh? They should know better then to get mugged or attacked? Is that it?" He looked dumb struck, Dick hadn't really known what exactly it was they should have known better then doing, but before he could say anything to her she left the room, and he thought he saw her wipe her eye on her sleeve as the door shut behind her. He looked down and was surprised to see he was standing, he sighed and looked to the other two for help.

Bruce shook his head and sighed,

" You know why it's important to her don't you?" Dick nodded and Bruce continued, " Then I don't see why you have to make a big deal out of it." He nodded again then glanced at the door Rain had left through,

" You're right, um… I'll be back, don't wait up, 'kay?" Bruce nodded and watched Dick hurry after her.

Rain was sitting on the couch her and Dick had been sleeping so comfortably on an hour previously staring down at the cover of the only thing she had left from her parents. There was a knock on the door and she looked up to see Dick entering the room, she turned her back to him and opened her book,

" Rain, listen, I'm sorry about what I said, I didn't mean it. I don't know what I was thinking." She heard the sincerity in his voice and turned to him,

" I know, and I'm sorry too, I know you guys risk your lives to protect the city, but like I said there are people who are in danger, not from The Joker, or Mr. Freeze, and they need help, and that's where I come in." He nodded and sat beside her with a sigh,

" I guess you gotta' do what you gotta' do." She laughed a little at the cliché and he continued, " but if you ever change your mind my offer for you to live here, and join our team still stands." His tone was hopeful but he knew that she had her mind made up,

" Thanks, I'll keep it in mind, but isn't it up to Bruce?" she asked with her brow furrowed it was his turn to laugh,

" Well I think Bruce was actually going to ask if you wanted to stay too." She looked at him and smiled,

" Well I guess you beat him to it, but I'm sure he would have had better tact in trying to persuade me to stay." Dick nodded,

" I'm sure he would have, but I'm guessing it wouldn't have mattered, you would still want to go back to the streets." Her smile faded as she slowly nodded.


	5. Human logic, Vs Animal instinct

At ten to midnight Rain slipped into her room after spending several hours talking with Dick, they talked about everything, but at the same time nothing. He told her why he wasn't there before when she had first come to the Wayne manor, he had been taking a three week course at the university on the other side of Gothem and had been living in one of the dorm rooms, he had been glad it was only a two week course so Bruce wasn't left to work alone for too long. She told him about being a lycan, " Isn't that supposed to be a werewolf? You know, Lycanthrope." She had laughed at his ignorance and explained the differences from werewolves and lycans,

" A lycan changes at will, for one, and for another, we can change completely instead of being somewhere in between we change right down to the DNA, but we could also only change certain aspects of our self, like I could change the inner part of my ears so I can hear like a wolf but look human, but that's difficult and can only be sustained for a short period of time. Lycans can also heal themselves and others, but it's also quite difficult because, say you were fatally injured and I tried to heal you." Dick nodded,

" Okay."

" I would heal you enough so you could live and have some strength, but I would not heal you completely, because if I did I'd be likely to die instead, when I heal some one I'm basically giving them my strength and am therefore left weakened, so if I was already injured I wouldn't be able to heal you as much."

" So what about healing your self?"

" I still get weaker, but if I have a fatal injury I can heal it as long as I 1. I stay conscious, and 2. Have enough strength to do so, but if it's not fatal and the fights over then I don't usually bother to "on the spot" heal it, and just let it heal on it's own." He nodded again clearly fascinated,

"When you leave it does it still heal faster then normal people?" she smiled at his obvious interest,

" Yeah, and luckily I'm less likely to get a scar then "normal" people too." He continued asking questions about her and her abilities until they found something else to talk about.

Now Rain sat on the bed she had slept in last time she was here thinking about everything she and Dick had discussed the hours previously. Smiling to herself Rain lay down on the soft bed and drifted into a dreamless sleep

The morning came too soon as Rain sat up in her bed, it was warm and comfortable, where as the air out side the covers was chilly but she got up anyway. Once out of bed she went into the bathroom then turned on the hot water waiting for it to heat up. Half an hour later Rain emerged from the bathroom attached the bedroom she had been occupying, when she entered the room she saw a pair of blue jeans and a brown T-shirt with a bloody dagger on the front as well as a black zip up sweater with a hood, on either side of the zipper near the bottom there was a large pocket. Smiling Rain put the clothes on and headed down the stairs and the familiar hallway towards the large kitchen where she could already hear Alfred busying himself with making breakfast, she hesitated outside the kitchen for a moment wondering if it would be better to just leave, but before she could come to a conclusion she felt an arm wrap around her waist and lead her into the room, when she looked around she saw that not one but two arms had wrapped around her, the second was shadowed by the first and therefore escaped her notice, but now she saw that both Bruce and Dick had snuck up behind her and pulled her into the kitchen. Going with out resistance Rain smiled at the two men whom, although she had not known them long, had earned her affection in spite of herself.

Dick laughed at the expression on her face,

" What? You didn't think you could leave without having breakfast did you? Or saying goodbye for that matter." She felt her face flush a guilty red as she sat down,

" No of course not!" she wondered if she was trying to convince the men or herself but pushed the thoughts away. Bruce sat in the chair to her right and Dick to her left, Alfred then came over with a large tray baring a high stack of toast, pancakes, ham, bacon, and sausages, he smiled at her quizzical look and answered the unasked question,

" We don't want to send you off hungry young miss." She laughed as he set out syrup and butter.

After a large and delicious breakfast it was time to say good-bye, they were standing in the hall in front of the front door, Alfred was smiling that warm smile of his as he hugged her,

" Take care of your self now." She nodded as he stepped back and Dick stepped forward. He pulled her into a tight embrace that made her feel like she could stay like that forever, but she knew it had to end, and sure enough it did, but before he stepped back to let Bruce say his good-bye he whispered in her ear,

" Don't forget, you always have friends here, 'kay?" She nodded as he moved for Bruce, who also hugged her. This embrace was a fatherly one; it reminded her of her parents and everything she had lost, fighting back the tears that threatened to fall Rain smiled at Bruce who nodded to her,

" You can come here anytime if you just need to get away."

" Thank-you, I'll remember that." She was afraid her voice would give way and the tears would fall before she got away but they didn't spill over her cheeks until she was walking through the forest that surrounded the Wayne manor.

It was dark and the sky above was obscured by the pollution of the city and the height of many of the buildings, and a single wolf, unseen in the shadows, prowled the many interlinking alleyways, watching for trouble. Halfway down a long back ally she could hear voices, one was stressed and frightened, and the other was hurried and demanding, Rain came to the corner and peered around it unnoticed, she saw two men standing about four feet apart, one was holding a gun and the other was fumbling with something on his wrist, that Rain suspected to be a watch. She stepped around the corner, still keeping to the shadows, and let out a low rumbling growl, the man holding the gun looked into the shadows for the source of the sound, and when he did so the other man tried to run past him, but the gun holder started at the sudden movement and fired hitting the frightened man, Rain saw his body crumple and hit the ground, but when she listened close she heard the still standing mans breathing, slow and deep, but she also heard the fallen ones, pained, and coming in sharp gasps. Growling again she stepped into the light facing the mugger, he had dark shadows under his eyes, and his blond hair was so dirty it could have been black; it fell halfway down his neck and seemed to make his eyes look much darker then they should. The man pointed his gun at her, but had trouble holding it steady. Rain stopped about twelve feet from the guy on the ground and lowered her head in a threatening way glaring at the gunman; slowly she lowered herself ready to rush him if necessary.

Eyes glinting with fear the man watched the wolf slowly crouch, he knew she was preparing to leap, and he also knew that he had no chance if he let her do so, so he did the only thing he could think of, he fired.

Rain saw his hand jerk as it fired the gun and dodged away from the flying bullet, but he didn't stop with just one, he continued firing, and she continued moving, but she knew she wasn't faster then a speeding bullet and sure enough she felt the impact of a bullet hitting her chest just above her collar bone. Falling back she hit the ground hard, the impact knocked the wind out of her.

Seeing the wolf go down the man sighed with slight relief due to the fact that it was the last bullet, but he could see her still breathing and set to work reloading his gun. The large black wolf slowly got to her feet and turned to face him once more, her teeth barred and walk filled with purpose, she stopped at the same spot she had before, and he watched her as he clicked the last round into place and closed the barrel, words came to his mind, words he didn't think,

" I'm not mortal like you silly human, I cannot be killed by mere bullets." She knew this was a lie but hoped he would fall for it considering her reputation. The mans eyes went wide as she started towards him once more, he fired his gun a few more times but his hand was shaking so bad he missed, until she was five feet from him, a bullet grazed her shoulder but the cut was deep and blood spilled down her right front leg, but as he watched, her pace didn't slow and her steps were even, she didn't show any sign that she had just been hit. Then he realized there wasn't the slightest trace of a wound on her chest where he hit her before, with a gasp the man took a step back before turning and trying to run away.

Rain snickered to herself as he turned his back on her; she took two running paces before leaping onto his back forcing him to the ground with a grunt of pain and a strangled yell of fear. Rain opened her powerful jaws and took his neck between her teeth before twisting her head quickly snapping his neck killing him instantly. Rain didn't like to kill people, but sometimes her wolf instincts got the better of her. Now, however, Rain tuned her thoughts to the dying man further down the ally, And she went to him to look at the bullet wound in his stomach. Noticing him tense slightly as she approached she decided to let him know she was going to help him,

" It's alright, I'm going to heal you, hold still." He was perplexed at the words that came to his mind but as most people did, figured out that it was a wolf using telepathy, so he relaxed, closed his eyes and focused on breathing.

Rain gently placed her nose on the wound and concentrated on it healing, and slowly the hole closed and the man found it getting easier to breath, he opened his eyes and looked at the body of the powerful animal that had saved his life, then he noticed blood seeping down her left leg, and wondered if she could heal herself, but before he asked she stepped back and sat down, " You'll be alright now, dizzy I'm sure, but okay." He sat up and looked at the spot where the bullet had hit and saw only a small hole that was already scabbed over, he stood slowly, she was right he was dizzy, looking down he realized why, he had been laying in a large puddle of his own blood, he smiled to the wolf and inclined his head slightly,

" Thank you." Was all he could manage to say before heading out of the ally and around the corner, sighing Rain walked towards the back of the ally and found a sheltered spot behind a dumpster about halfway between the corner she had first saw the men from and where they had been standing, now she turned into her human form and got to work healing her wound, but she only stopped the bleeding and got it to scab over, once she did this Rain put her hand to her chest and clenched her necklace in her hand, she felt an indent in it and sighed, ' this necklace saved my life.' Soon Rain got comfortable and went to sleep.

" Look, paw prints." The voice sounded distant but something in Rains mind nudged her, " Looks like the "Gothem wolf" strikes again, but I don't think there really is a wolf living in the city, I mean have you ever seen any wolves?" A second voice sighed,

" Nope I sure haven't Sam, but you know just 'cause we haven't seen it doesn't mean it can't be real." Sam sighed too,

" I know, but I think it's just another vigilante in an animal disguise using a knife or some fancy gadget to make it look like wolf bites." The second voice coughed,

" What about the bloody paw prints you pointed out a minuet ago? They're bigger then any dog I ever saw." Sam hesitated,

" Well like I said it could be another vigilante dressed up as a wolf." There was a pause and rain listened hard, but neither of the men was speaking, and she didn't dare open her eyes until she felt a chilly hand touch her bare shoulder. Opening her eyes Rain saw two police officers, there uniforms, blue with two yellow pinstripes down the outside of each leg, looked sharp in the early morning light. The man who touched her shoulder drew back slightly then spoke in the voice she had identified as Sam, but Rain already knew who they were by their scent,

" I'm officer Hudson, miss, and this is my partner officer Baylie, we'd like to take you down town to answer a few questions if you don't mind." Rain didn't know what to do, so she slowly got to her feet, once standing officer Hudson gently took hold of her lower arm to help guide her around the scene.

Noticing something different in the Police mans scent Rain looked up at him and saw that he was looking closely at the watch Alfred had given her the first time she had left the Wayne manor,

" That's and awfully nice watch for someone who sleeps in ally ways, could you tell me where you got it?" his voice was gentle, but Rain knew he thought her a thief and she looked him in the eyes,

" It was given to me by a friend." She answered him truthfully and they both stopped,

" Who was this friend of yours miss?" she stiffened then sighed,

" You wouldn't believe me anyway." His expression was an intrigued one, his right brow rose to form an arch,

" And why is that?"

" Because who would believe that Bruce Wayne's butler would give a homeless girl a watch?" she asked him and his expression changed to a frown,

" I see, well if you could please come with me, and we can get it back to it's real owner." He emphasized the word "real" and took hold of her arm once more, feeling a little uneasy Rain pulled back,

" I didn't steal anything." He tone was indignant and sharp. Officer Baylie was standing near the mouth of the ally watching Rain closely for signs of violence, or recent injuries that could connect her to the dead body only feet from him, but there was no sign of either,

" Well if that's true then you wont have anything to worry about down at the station." Hudson reasoned and watched as Rain sighed,

" Alright, I'll go with you." And with that she followed officer Hudson to his car and got in the back seat.

Within minuets they had arrived at GCPD (Gotham City Police Department) and Baylie opened the door to let Rain out, on the way there Rain had told them her name, they had recognized it immediately, they had both worked on catching her parents murderer, and had spoken to her about what he had looked like, and what had happened. Once inside Hudson went to get some paper work while Baylie led Rain to an empty silver room with a rectangular table in the middle, around the table were four chairs, two on each side, on the wall to Rain right there was a large mirror that started about halfway up the wall and went to about four inches below the roof, and stretched the length of the wall, Rain knew that it was a two sided mirror and there would be people standing on the other side listening and watching, and recording. Sighing Rain sat down and folded her arms on the table before resting her head on them. A few minuets later Hudson entered the room and he and Baylie sat on the other side of the table.

" So, can you tell us everything you did last night?" Hudson asked placing the paper work he had in his hand on the table,

" Yeah, I was in the park at sun set, from there I was walking around looking for a good spot to spend the night, I found a spot on East Broadway Ave. I slept for a few hours, but woke up when bikers came though and decided I should move because it looked like a race and I didn't want to get hit if one of them lost control going around the corner, so I started looking for some place else, I was lucky to find the spot where you guys found me, it was so dark by then, and all the lights around there were burnt out, I didn't see anything that happened, it probably happened before I showed up." She shrugged and caught the look the two officers shared. She knew they believed her by the way Baylie nodded and Hudson sighed. They didn't have any leads to their homicide. Officer Hudson looked at Rain thoughtfully for a few minuets then looked away with a sigh, a moment later the door opened and another Officer lead Bruce Wayne into the room, who was closely followed, to the officers annoyance, by Dick Gracien. Hudson stood and smiled, but neither Bruce or Dick returned the smile, they both looked rather displeased, Dick pulled the chair beside Rain out and sat down facing her,

" Are you okay?" she smiled and nodded,

" I'm fine Dick, but what are you doing here?" he scoffed slightly

" I heard from Bruce that you were here, and as a good friend I came with him to make sure you were alright." Rain looked up at Bruce who smiled at her then turned his attention to the policemen,

" You wanted to speak with me concerning Ms. Wolf?" Hudson cleared his throat,

" Um, yes. You see we noticed that the watch she is wearing has the Wayne family crest on it, and thought that maybe..."

" She stole it?" Dick finished for him with a hint of anger in his voice,

" I see, well I assure you she did not, she was helping me with some organizing last week and I gave her the watch because she had refused to accept money." Rain looked up at the men opposite her watching for their reaction. Hudson nodded, and Baylie stood and also nodded,

" Thank you for clarifying for us Mr. Wayne," he looked at Rain and smiled, " you're free to go." She nodded before standing and walking out with Dick beside her and Bruce right behind them. Out side she hugged them both tightly. Dick kissed her cheek,

" Try and stay out of trouble for five minuets okay?" she just laughed and hugged Bruce, who smiled and looked at his own watch,

" How about we go for some lunch?" Dick agreed right away, but Rain was hesitant but they persuaded her to come, they went to a small diner for lunch and Rain told them about her night over burgers and French fries.

After lunch Bruce took Rain down to the Park, when she got out of the car she was surprised to see Dick also out,

" What are you doing?" she asked a little confused,

" I figured you could use some company tonight, if that's alright." His sheepish smile made her grin and nod even though it was against her better judgment. Looking at Bruce she saw him smile and shrug,

" You kids be good now." He waved before driving off, and Rain turned back to Dick.

" So how long did you have in mind?" her gaze was suspicious and made him grin as he answered,

" I don't know, I didn't really think that far ahead, at least tonight anyway." He watched as her expression changed from suspicion to surprise,

" All night? As in, like while it's dark?" he laughed and nodded then reached out and pulled her closer to him,

" That's right, All night." She shook her head,

" I don't know if that's such a good idea Dick, you know what I do at night and – " he cut her off,

" And you know what I do at night, I want to help you, see what it's like." His sincerity over whelmed her so much she leaned up and kissed him, but realizing what she was doing she pulled back just to see his dazed and slightly disappointed smile,

" I'm sorry I didn't mean…" her voice trailed away and he placed a finger under her chin and slowly leaned in to capture her lips in his.

She felt the warmth of his kiss and was a little unsure when she felt his tongue on her bottom lip asking so politely for entrance, slowly she obliged and opened her mouth for him, she could feel his tongue as it slowly explored her mouth and worked it's way to her own tongue, and gently lead the way back to his own mouth, she then allowed her tongue to explore. After a lengthy minuet they broke apart, Rain was suddenly very interested in the grass a few feet away. Dick watched her for a moment, then wrapped his arm around her waist and asked her why she wanted to come to the park; she smiled and answered with out looking up,

" I wanted to watch the sunset from my favorite spot. I'll show you." She glanced at him before leading the way towards the group of willows that concealed the large rock.

Once there Rain sat on the rock and looked up at him with a small smile,

" But it's not sunset for another three hours, it's only six thirty-ish." She nodded and sighed,

" Well I thought I'd get some sleep…" her voice trailed off again as she watched the willows sway gently in the breeze.

" Oh, you can still get some sleep." His tone was apologetic. She nodded and laid beside the rock on the dying August grass, Dick then removed his jacket and placed it over her before lying next to her. Smiling Rain closed her eyes and snuggled close to his warm muscular chest.


	6. Abduction and Rescue

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

When Rain opened her eyes her at first she couldn't see a thing, then slowly they adjusted and the trees around her became distinguishable, as did the fact that Dick was not lying beside her, slowly Rain looked around, changing her eyes the that of a wolf's as she did so, then Rain saw something that shouldn't be there, a man in a purple suit wearing a matching fedora, suppressing a gasp Rain slowly moved back and tried to change completely, to find she couldn't, and her eyes had gone back to their normal human state, this time she did gasp. The man sitting slowly looked up and giggled softly,

" What's the matter little girl? You didn't seem to worried last time we met." Jokers face was ghostly white in the little moon light they had, it glistened with glee as he stood and walked over to her, then knelt before her,

" How do you know I'm the person you're looking for?" she asked thinking that something didn't make sense,

" Hmm, you know I'm not exactly sure, but something tells me you're the one. Just like something told me that lover boy there," he indicated behind him and Rain saw that what she had taken for a rock was Dick, lying in a crumpled heap just as her father had been after he was murdered. Rain felt the stinging of on-coming tears as she put a hand over her mouth to hide her trembling lips, " was Bird Brain Robin, and that something wasn't right with him, so I think it's safe to bet that you are the one I'm looking for." Slowly he reached forward and touched her shoulder.

Rain jerked and sat bolt upright with a gasp of fear at Dicks touch, she had tears in her eyes and looked as if some one close to her had died. When she caught sight of Dick she threw her arms around him and buried her face in his T-shirt.

Dick was aware of dampness against his chest where Rains eyes where hidden, he wrapped his arms around her slender form and gently reassured her,

" Shh, it's alright, you're okay." He placed one hand on the back of her head and gently stroked her soft hair. After a few minuets she pulled back enough to look up at him and say,

" I'm sorry, I guess I had a nightmare, stupid of me to get worked up over it." He simply raised a brown and shook his head,

" Nonsense, your mind is the one thing that knows what you're truly afraid of, and tells you through your dreams, hence nightmares, but they're usually things that are extremely unlikely to happen." She nodded and sighed before leaning forward against his chest once more.

Together they watched the sun as it sank behind the horizon, it's golden glow illuminating them as it did so. Once the sun had vanished from sight and all that was left was the light blue glow of dusk they stood and headed from the park. They headed into the city, sticking to the allies Rain and Dick made there way quietly further and further from the park, both watching and listening for signs of trouble. The first sign came at eleven eighteen, Rain heard a harsh voice and hurried breathing, she froze and listened, hearing the voice again she signaled to Dick, who pulled his outer clothing off to reveal his Robin uniform, he then put his mask on and nodded to her, she turned into her wolf form and lead the way. Around the next corner Rain glimpsed a man on his knees and another man standing before him, they weren't saying anything, but from what she could see of the man standing he looked gleeful, something was going the way he wanted. Rain stopped there was something wrong. She couldn't smell any fear on the kneeling man,

" Wait, something's not right." She warned Dick and he stopped. Sniffing the air slowly Rain realized there was more people, at least ten, all around her and Dick, " Shit. We gotta get out of here!" before she could turn around to try and head back the way they had come she heard a gleeful whoop, glancing back she saw three men coming towards them, and she knew that there were more in front of them. With a growl Rain wrapped her tail around Dicks wrist and headed around the corner where there was only two men, she ran between them but heard them open fire and glanced back to make sure Dick was alright when she caught the smell of blood. Stopping Rain let Dick run past her before following, she could see his wound, it was deep, but only a graze but it was bleeding pretty bad. There was a yell from her right and she looked to see what caused it, and saw a man jump out, he landed right on target, the air was forced out of her lungs as he pinned her to the ground, once she caught her breath Rain snapped and thrashed as much as she could in an attempt to wriggle out from under him but it was no use, the man was at least twice her size.

Hearing Rains snapping Dick turned around and saw that she was pinned, he made to go back for her but "heard" her tell him to keep going and she'd be fine, so he turned down a side ally and doubled back by climbing a set of ladders to the roof of the building between him and Rain, when he looked over the edge he saw her still pinned, he also saw several men standing around her. One of them aimed a long brown-barreled gun at her back and fired, it didn't sound like a normal gun; it was much quieter.

Rain felt something hit her back and it sent a sharp pain through her body and she let out a yelp of pain, but within seconds her eyelids were feeling heavy, as was the rest of her body. The man holding her down slowly lifted himself off her, when he was standing she tried to sit but fell before she was even halfway up, she could hear the men's laughter at her weakness, but one mans stood out in her mind, the laugh was high and almost hysterical. Rain glimpsed a pair of shiny black dress shoes protruding from the legs of purple pants before going into blackness.

Dick watched as the Joker kneeled beside Rain and laughed again. Cursing he pressed an ear piece to his ear and pressed a button on his belt, holding the tiny microphone attached to the cord of the ear piece near his mouth he muttered,

" Batman, we need you're help, Joker's got Ember Rain, I repeat, Jokers got Ember Rain."

Dick watched as the Jokers men take Rain away, they got into a purple van and headed east, he followed as long as he could but his injury slowed him down dramatically and he lost them. Batman caught up soon after he had lost sight of the van,

" Robin you're hurt, go back to the bat cave, I'll get her back."

" No, I'm going with you, I'll be fine." The determination on his face said it all and more, so Batman nodded and they started in the direction the van had been headed before he had lost sight of it, on the way Robin told him what had happened.

When Rain awoke she was in a cage in the middle of what looked like an industrial office, there was a big window in one of the walls that was meant for viewing the workers, but other then that and a big wooden desk in the corner the room was empty and annoyingly bare. Growling Rain pushed herself to her feet and began to pace the four-foot cage, after six passes however the door opened with a delighted laugh, and in stepped Joker,

" I see you're awake my little nuisance." He walked over to the control panel below the window that Rain hadn't noticed at first, he pressed a few buttons and adjusted what looked like a web cam before stepping back with a laugh. " Batman, and Bird Brain, if you wish to receive the newest member of your team in one piece I suggest you do as I say. Meet me at the old warehouse on Steeple Drive in five minuets, no cops." He moved to the side so Rain was in plain view of the camera, she sat down and looked right at it, then snarled at Joker. Laughing again Joker cut off the broadcast and turned to leave, but before he left he placed something on the wall beside the door. Looking up at the beeping sound emitting from the wall Rain saw that Joker had set a bomb, and it was going to go off in twenty minuets.

"Shit." Robin muttered as Jokers message ended on the jumbo-torn in the middle of the city, he looked at Batman, " We're going after her, right?" his voice was tense and slightly strained

" Have I ever let Joker send someone back to me in pieces?" there was a note of humor in his voice but it was out weighed by his anger and concern, " but I think you should go back and have that bandaged." He gestured to Robin's side, which had only just stopped bleeding.

" I'll be fine, but she might not be." Batman looked into his partners hazel eyes and nodded,

" Alright, but don't get in over your head." He pressed a button on the dash and off they went.

Within minuets they arrived at their destination, both men jumped out of the car and headed towards the door to the warehouse, which stood open. Slowly they entered the empty building, the room was vast with many support beams placed far enough from one another for machinery like forklifts and cats to easily pass. Their steps echoed off the walls as the crossed into the middle both watching for signs of trouble, A high pitched laugh reached their ears, it bounced off the walls making it impossible to detect where the sound was coming from. There was a click and electronic buzzing and the room flooded with light as the long lights on the roof came on one at a time.

Standing at the top of a long set of stairs was Joker, he was wearing his fedora, which he saved for "special" occasions. Joker looked down at Batman and Robin and chuckled,

" So you didn't trade the bird for the wolf after all, eh Batsy?" Robin growled bat didn't move,  
" where is she Joker!" Batman called up Joker laughed again before answering.

" You're familiar with the game hide and seek I presume? Well my version is called hide and delay the seeker. I hide the wolf, and while you're looking for her I delay you, doesn't that sound like fun?" he gave another high laugh, this one was more hysterical then the others by far. Robin glanced over at Batman, who slowly lowered himself into a fighting stance,

" Robin you go find her, I'll keep him busy." Robin nodded and Batman went to engage joker in combat.

Robin thought of the video they saw, she was in some kind of office, he looked up at the second floor and saw a door too the left, beside the door was a big viewing window, ' that must be where she is.' He thought and started making his way towards it. Hitting down one of Jokers men that had come out when Batman had made his move, Robin continued, but realizing it would take too long to fight his way through he used his grapple gun and managed to get the cord wrapped around one of the rafters, he then attached the gun to his belt and had the cord retract lifting him off the ground. Once at the right height Robin swung his body back and forth moving farther every time, within minuets he was ready. Holding his breath he pressed the release button on the forward swing, and instead of swinging back, or falling, he flew through the air, only stopping when he hit the wall beside the door.

Regaining his balance Robin stepped back and kicked the door open, before rushing into the room. With a sweeping look Robin saw that it was empty. On the wall opposite the door however was a large screen placed in the middle of the wall, on the screen he could see Rain, pacing her cage, and on the wall behind her red numbers going down every second.

" Shit." Was all he could say. Turning Robin left the office and jumped over the railing that stopped people from falling, landing on two of Jokers men who had been fighting Batman Robin hurriedly told him what he saw and his theory as to where she might be. Within five minuets Robin was working his way through an abandoned toy factory a block from the warehouse, when he opened the door to the big office he was relieved to see Rain, who was climbing out of the cage, still in her wolf form. Catching his scent she looked up at him,

" What took you so long?" she asked humorously, smiled and pointed at the bomb,

" We don't have time for humor, we've got less then a minuet to clear the blast, let's get out of here." She nodded and followed him out. As they approached the exit they heard the beginning of the explosion and sped the pace up, they made it out side and halfway across the deserted street before the gust of heat and debris reached them, it blew both of them through the windows of the shop on the other side.

Rains body felt heavy, as if it was being flattened, when she opened her eyes she saw why, she was lying under several pieces of metal and wood. With a groan she managed to wriggle out, once freed she began looking for Robin, but she didn't have to look long, he was unconscious and had a large piece of wood lying on his left leg, which was at an odd angle. Changing into her human form so she could grip the wood Rain lifted it off him and pulled him, by the arm, into an almost standing position with his left arm around her right shoulder, half dragging and half carrying his she brought him out of the ruined shop and down the sidewalk, by the time she reached the corner he had regained consciousness,

"Batman's going to need help." He told her,

" I know, but I can't leave you here."

" Yes you can, I'll be okay." He insisted, he could sense her reluctance and persisted, " I'll be fine here, I'd be in more danger over there with Jokers men everywhere, and Batman needs the help." She sighed in defeat,

" Alright." Slowly she lowered him onto the ground and he leaned back against the wall of the store they were outside of before she headed for the warehouse. When she got there she was in her wolf form and ready to help anyway she could.

Rain leapt into the warehouse with a snarl ready to get back at the men who had caged her, she saw about twelve of them and they were standing in a circle around two figures and none of them seemed to notice her entrance, but that was fine by her. With another snarl Rain leapt on the man she knew to have shot Dick earlier, with a flick of her head she broke his neck with a sharp crack, gaining the attention of the other bystanders, who reacted immediately. The men came at her with chains, pipes, fists and feet, but Rain wasn't phased by them, she managed to bite her way out of the circle, she saw two more men fall and mentally checked them off. Noticing a hole in the line they had just formed Rain decided to make it bigger, she jumped onto one of the men to her right forcing his to the ground hard, from there she jumped from one to the next, she succeeded in neutralizing five more men with this method. With four men left and Batman still holding up Rain was feeling pretty good about the situation, in the next five minuets she managed to knockout the remaining men and was ready to help Batman with Joker, but Joker, it seemed, had a plan B.

Joker jumped back from Batman with a sad laugh before waving farewell and throwing down what looked like a smoke bomb, but what came out of it was purple and thick as a cloud of smoke from damp leaves being burned. Seeing batman place a small gas mask over his mouth and nose Rain knew the stuff must be dangerous, so she quickly backed away and was sure to keep away from it. Meeting Batman outside she told him where she had left Robin and they went together to get him. Hearing the sirens and commotion behind them Rain glanced back and saw a dozen or so cop cars, a reporter truck, and some other cars that, Rain assumed, were people interested on what's going on. Within seconds, however Rain and Batman were out of sight of the many fast approaching vehicles and could see where Robin was waiting for them.


	7. Party Hardy

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When they got back to the bat cave Bruce insisted that Rain stay at the manor, and she didn't put up much of a fight about it, she hadn't enjoyed being the bait. So Rain moved into the Wayne manor, it didn't take long due to the fact she only had what she was wearing (-.-'). Soon it was common knowledge that Rain was not only living in Wayne manor, but had a relationship with Dick Gracien, Gothem's second most eligible bachelor, Bruce being the first. A month after Rain joined the three men at the manor Dick took her to diner at her favorite restaurant. It was a family restaurant with padded booths lining the walls, each large enough to comfortably sit four, in each corner there were larger ones that could seat eight, in the middle area there were several different sized tables ranging from two to six seats, the walls were covered with flowered wall paper, pinned to the walls, roof and windows were rubber Bats, plastic skeletons, stuffed headless horsemen, and random pairs of eyes that seemed to follow you as you moved. They went to their favorite booth by one of the big windows and sat across from each other, she was wearing a form fitting T-shirt that seemed to caress her curves perfectly, she also wore a pair of dark blue jeans, Dick was dressed similar, wearing a loose T-shirt that said: "There are 10 different types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who don't." He also wore a pair of jeans that, like his shirt, were loose and comfortable.

They ordered and just sat and talked until their food arrived. After diner Dick drove them home, it was still early when they got back and Dick insisted on blindfolding her, she agreed and then allowed him to guide her through the house, soon they came to a door, which Dick opened and guided her though, then after closing it he untied the blind fold and let it fall. Rain gasped, they were in her favorite living room with four couches, each with one of two matching armchairs; the room was decorated with paper streamers, balloons and hanging from the roof was a large banner that read: "Happy Birthday Rain" in multiple colours. Turning to Dick with a smile on her face she asked,

" How did you know?" He just smiled and nodded towards the door at the other end of the room, she turned and looked.

The door opened and through it came Bruce and Alfred, Bruce was holding a rectangular cake that had eighteen candles, and they were all grinning as Dick led them in "Happy Birthday" when they finished singing Rain made a silent wish before blowing out the candles.

After hugging Bruce and Alfred she looked at all three of them smiling,

" Now, how did you guys know?" she looked at Bruce, who gave her a sly smile,

" I have my ways." Was all he said,

" Now, lets party!" Dick went over to one of the couches and pulled a few bottles of alcohol from behind it, he placed them on the small table beside one of the other couches, then went over to the stereo and turned on some music. Laughing Rain accepted a glass filled with creamy liquid, she could smell whisky as well as milk,

" It's called Irish Cream, its good." Commented Dick seeing her sniff the drink, she smiled and took a sip.

Soon Rain and Dick were dancing enthusiastically in the middle of the room, bored of only having one dance partner Rain pulled Bruce over to them and got him to dance too. Their small party went on till' late that night, by the time Bruce said one more song three of the four bottles of alcohol were empty and the last one, a bottle of sambuka, a clear liquid that tastes like black liquorish was half empty. Bruce put on the last song and sat down to watch Rain and Dick.

As the intro started for Amazed by Lone Star, Rain felt Dicks arms wrap around her waist as she wrapped her own around his neck, she could feel his body pressed against hers as they moved in a slow circle. She looked up into his eyes with a smile, which he returned before leaning down and gently kissing her. After pulling back he rested his forehead against hers and before they knew it the song was over, but just before they broke apart Dick whispered, for her ears only,

" I Love you."

" I love you too."

They pulled apart slowly and went over to Bruce and Alfred and said good night.

A few minuets later Dick and Rain were in her room; Dick put his arms around her again and held her close enjoying the scent of her hair.

Rain slowly put her hands under his shirt and felt his smooth strong back, more slowly still she pulled his shirt up, Realizing what she was doing Dick lifted his arms so she could get the shirt over his head, soon she discarded it onto the floor and gently ran her fingers over his muscular chest he smiled and gently kissed her forehead as his hands found the bottom of her shirt and he gently pulled it off, once the shirt was on the floor he tenderly ran one finger down each side of her body admiring the way she looked in the moonlight. Gently he laid her on the bed kissing her neck as he did so, he kneeled over her and kissed down her neck and down between her breasts, skipping over her bra he made his way to her belly, continuing in a straight line till he came to the top of her pants. With a sly smile he undid the button and the zipper then slowly slid her pants down her legs and off, before dropping them to the floor. He took a moment to allow her beauty to sink in. She looked like an angle, the pale moonlight made it look as if her skin was glowing; her dark hair was fanned out to the sides like black silken wings. Rain sat up and gently kissed his chest while her hands undid his pants, once undone Dick slid them off and added them to the growing pile of clothes. She could see a bulge in his boxers as he leaned in closer to her to kiss the under part of her jaw where the skin was soft and sensitive. Rain could feel the arousal in the pit of her stomach as Dick reached behind her and undid her bra; she pulled her arms out of the straps slowly then tucked them under her head so he could get a good look. With a soft smile he bent low over her and kissed the top of each of her breasts, then in the middle of her chest he, again, kissed down her chest and belly till he came to her panties, which he easily slid off her and down to the floor, then he leaned back slightly and admired the way she looked once more before moving forward and allowing her to pull off his boxers. Gently he ran his hands over her body, starting at her cheeks and going down, over her breasts and belly till he came to her thighs, which he caressed gently. Spreading her legs he positioned himself over her as he gently kissed her lips.

Rain wrapped her arms around his neck as they kissed and gently ran her fingers over his back. After a lengthy kiss Dick pulled back and looked her in the eyes,

" Are you sure you want to do this?" his voice was soft and she knew that if she told him no he would understand, but she smiled, and said,

" If I didn't want to I wouldn't have taken your shirt off." He smiled and kissed her again, then grimaced slightly,

" It's going to hurt at first." She nodded and braced herself as he prepared to break her virgin barrier; just before he thrust into her he captured her lips in his in an attempt to distract her, and he knew it hadn't worked as well as he had hoped when she gasped in pain. Dick waited to a moment to give her time to adjust to his size then slowly he started to pump his hips, he could see her enjoy the sensations every movement sent through her, then he began to speed up and was pleased when he heard her moan quietly with delight. Their breathing got heavier and her sounds of pleasure more frequent until, moaning his name, she peaked. A few seconds after he also peaked, deep inside her, with a groan he pulled out of her and laid next to her, almost instinctively she nudged up close to his chest and closed her eyes with a smile. Also smiling Dick pulled the blanket over them then wrapped his arms around her before falling asleep as well.


	8. Best Gift to be Given

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Aware of the strong arms around her and the warm bare body pressed against hers Rain opened her eyes. She was lying on her side with her head resting in the crook of Dick's neck; his chin was perched on the top of her head cushioned by her hair. Remembering the night before Rain smiled and gently kissed the warm chest that was slowly rising and falling. Slowly, so as not to wake Dick, Rain wriggled out from under his arm and pulled on some P.J.'s, when she looked up after pulling on a long shirt that fell to her thighs Rain saw that her bunkmate was awake, so she sat beside him with a smile, which he sleepily returned,

" I'm sorry I didn't mean to wake you."

" That's okay, it's time to get up anyway." He stretched then continued with a sigh, "You're beautiful." She smiled and kissed him,

" And you're very flattering. Now, you should probably get dressed before Alfred stops serving lunch." They both laughed and got dressed. Rain had a quick shower before they went down to the kitchen together.

When they entered they saw Bruce leaning back in his chair with a hand on his forehead and a tall glass of water in the other. Rain sat beside him and grinned broadly,

" How's your head?" she asked, and Bruce winced,

" Do you have to talk so loud?" He smiled then asked, " How did you like your birthday?" Rain glanced at Dick before answering,

" It was the best night of my life." Bruce nodded then pulled a piece of paper that was lying on the table closer to her,

" I got you a present, well sort of." Curiously Rain read the paper, it was an adoption application, with her name printed in the space for the name of the adoptee and Bruce's in the one for adopter. Rain let her jaw drop as she read, when finished she looked up at Bruce as if expecting him to say " got ya'" but when he didn't she let out a yell of happiness and threw her arms around his neck. Once back in her seat she looked at Dick and Alfred

" Did you guys know about this?"

" I did but master Dick had no idea." Rain looked from Alfred to Bruce,

" You guys are great." Was all she could say, then Dick moved forward pulling a small velvet box from his pocket,

" And I got you this." Inside the box was a necklace, the chain was twisted silver, and the pendant was a small silver butterfly with two sapphires and a diamond set into each of the wings, Rain gaped at it for a second before looking up at him speechless. When she got her voice back Rain asked,

" How did you afford this?" He glanced at Bruce,

" I did a few odd jobs here and there." She smiled and took it out of the box Dick went around to help her put it on. " I did some reading and I found that you can use certain stones and gems for different things, the sapphires will help you keep your energy when you heal, and the diamonds can store strength for when you really need it." He paused at the amazed look on her face then, continued, " And you wont have to worry as much about getting too much excess energy." She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him deeply to show her appreciation. When they broke apart they all sat around the table for lunch.

Later that night Rain was in her room drying her hair after a hot shower, once dry she put it into a high ponytail leaving two locks in the front hanging down, admiring the affect in the mirror she sighed wondering what it's going to be like, what they expected of her. Sighing she put on the dress that Alfred had helped her pick out, it was dark red and had a low back, the front was also low but not to the point that it was unacceptable, it had a V caller and went up and tied behind her neck. The bottom of the dress fell to her mid calves; on the left there was a slit that went to her mid thigh. She looked at herself in the mirror and smiled at her reflection then got to work on her make-up. She wore black eyeliner, green shadow, black mascara, on her cheeks she applied the slightest bit of blush, and for her lips she used pink lipstick. When Rain was ready she stepped out of her room and made her way to the second floor entrance to the Ball Room, when she got there she stood out side the door for a moment and took a deep breath before pushing the door open.

She was standing at the top of a long set of stairs, closing the door she stepped forward to where Dick was waiting for her, she smiled and laughed when he bowed to her before holding out his arm for her,

" You look stunning." Her smile broadened,

" I noticed you stunned." He laughed quietly,

" You know what I meant." She nodded,

" Yeah, I knew what you meant, but that doesn't change what you said." Smiling he shook his head. They were halfway down the stairs before she realized that most of the people in the large room were looking at them. When they came to the bottom people greeted them graciously and congratulated Rain, but she knew they didn't think it adequate for Bruce Wayne, the richest man in Gotham, to adopt an eighteen-year-old girl off the streets. They continued through the crowd till' they were in front of the band, and beside Bruce, he smiled at her and held out his hand, Rain took it and released Dick at the same time. Signaling to the band Bruce led her back to the middle of the room and as the band started playing they danced. Halfway through a young man cut in and began dancing with her as Bruce stepped away to look at his daughter.

The man Rain was now dancing with had black hair that was neatly combed back, his eyes were dark blue, and his chin stubborn, over all however he had a handsome look to him. Rain smiled at him as they began to dance and he returned it before speaking,

" You're very beautiful."

" Thank you"

" My name is Jonathan Bultra, by the way." Rain nodded courteously

" I'm sure you know my name," he nodded and she continued, " It's nice to meet you Mr. Bultra."

" Oh, please call me Jonathan."

" Okay, Jonathan." The song ended and they broke apart, Rain turned around to see Dick standing near the wall watching her, smiling at his jealous look she went up to him and wrapped her arm around his, " Come dance with me Dick." She asked giving him puppy-dog eyes, he couldn't help but grin and let her drag him onto the dance floor.

Through out the party Rain danced with several young men, but none really stuck out in her mind as much as Jonathan had, there was something about him, something warm and welcoming. At the end Bruce made a small speech about how he wouldn't have been able to choose a better heir to the Wayne fortunes, and told the crowd that he had met her when he was walking to one of his favorite coffee shops, he said that she was giving the money she had just earned to a poor woman who was holding an infant child, that earned a round of applause and caused Rain to go red,

" Okay Bruce, you've embarrassed me enough, let's have some cake!" She called up to him and he grinned and nodded then handed her the knife,

" First cut goes to you." Smiling she cut the cake and helped Alfred hand out the pieces, once everyone had one Rain went and stood by Dick eating her cake with gusto.

Soon everyone was heading out and Rain and Dick headed up the stairs and into the hall, in minuets they were outside her room, with a quiet goodnight and a loving kiss they departed, Dick headed for his room and she stepped inside hers. That night the bed felt strangely empty, and chilly.


	9. The Discovery and the Desicion

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The weeks crept by and soon it was October 31st, Halloween, Rain and Dick dressed up as Romeo and Juliet and walked around the city and gave candy to random children, Rain saw a sad looking little girl and filled her bag half full, the girl walked away smiling brightly. Bruce was out doing hero stuff, they had wanted to come but he insisted that he could handle it, but they made him promise to page them if anything happened, and matters got out of hand. Fortunately, everything was fine and Batman put a well known drug dealer behind bars.

Worried about the fact that she hadn't had her period yet Rain slipped into a drug store under the pretence of getting a bottle of water and Tylenol, but she also got a home pregnancy test, when the guy at the counter looked up at her after seeing the pregnancy test she smiled and told him it was for a friend who was too shy to get it herself, he shrugged and told her the total, she paid and exited. Dick, who was giving a handful of candy to every kid that passed, looked at her as she opened the bottle of painkillers and took one out, carefully she replaced the lid and dropped it into the bag then pulled out the water, making sure Dick didn't notice the long thin box, she then swallowed the pill and washed it down with three large gulps of water, after Dick drank they continued on until they no longer saw any children. When there weren't any more kids to give candy to they headed back to the car, which was parked in the parks parking lot, and went home.

When they got home they said good night to Alfred and Bruce, who had beaten them back, and went to Rains room, Dick had started to accompany her in her bed not long after her birthday, they hadn't had sex again however. So when they arrived Rain told him she was going to have a shower before bed, he told her "okay" and started getting ready as she grabbed her P.J.'s and headed into the bathroom, once inside with the door safely locked she turned on the water to let it heat up, then she quickly read the instructions on the box of the test before following them, once done she placed it on the counter, undressed and stepped into the shower. Fifteen minuets later Rain wrapped her fluffy towel around her body and stepped out of the shower stall, she slowly approached the sink looking determinedly at her reflection, then with a sigh she looked down.

The thin piece of plastic with a cardboard insert, this was the part that would tell her what she wanted to know, slowly she leaned down to get a better look, the cardboard was now light blue, and in the middle of it was a darker, blue positive sign.

With a whispered curse she put her hands over her face and thought about what she would tell Dick, not thinking of anything she sighed again and decided she wouldn't tell him yet. So with that quick decision she threw the test in the garbage, put on her P.J.'s, brushed her hair and stepped out into the bedroom, smiling she then crawled under the covers; she liked to make him shiver by touching his warm bare chest with her wet hair. He put his arm around her and she nestled into his side and before long they were both asleep.

The next morning Rain woke early, she laid there for a few minuets thinking about the child now growing in her belly before she was taken over by a sudden burst of nausea. When she came out of the bathroom half an hour later she smiled at Dick who was sitting up and looking at her thoughtfully,

"Are you alright?" his tone was gentle, as if he was telling a scared child that everything would be okay, she smiled and replied casually,

" Yeah, everything's fine, why do you ask?"

" I was just wondering, you seemed…troubled last night in your sleep." She tilted her head to the side and sat on the bed beside him,

" I must have been the dream I was having." He bought it and kissed her cheek before changing into a pair of jeans and a loose T-shirt.

The weeks slowly crept by and Rain experienced the telltale signs and symptoms of pregnancy, but she did a good job of hiding it, no one in the Wayne house hold suspected a thing, she had started wearing baggy T-shirts, most of them were Dicks, and sweatpants, when asked about her attire she responded with "it's comfortable" or "because I can" and no one ever questioned her further on the subject. In November her and Dick had "played" around some, but come December she knew that if he saw her naked he would know and she wanted to tell him when she was ready, but she knew she had to do it soon or he would find out some other way. She went out with them at night and helped patrol the city; she designed a costume for herself so she wouldn't have to always be in her wolf form.

Before she knew it, it was New Years Eve, and they were in her favorite sitting room watching the T.V as the crowd in the middle of Gotham counted down to the New Year. She was sitting on the couch with Dick, he had his arm around her and they each had a tall glass in one hand, as did Bruce and Alfred, when the crowd came to one there was a great cheer and fireworks went off on the screen, but the cheer wasn't only coming from the speakers, the three men had all giving a shout of "happy new year!" and clinked glasses before drinking the bubbly alcohol, Rain clinked her glass and pretended to drink. Making sure none of the alcohol entered her body Rain continued to pretend to drink here and there, then after a few hours, when all three men were singing drunkenly and laughed and told them it was time for bed.

Ten days later Rain was sitting on the hidden rock in the park with Dick watching the sun slowly sink behind the mountains. He had his arm around her and her head was resting on his shoulder, the snow seemed as though it should melt from fiery orange glow that the setting sun cast upon it. Dick reached into his pocket and pulled from it a small black velvet box, before Rain had noticed he took her hand and went down on one knee in front of her with a big smile on his face.

He brought the box forward and slowly opened it with his free hand as he asked,

" Rain, will you marry me?" inside the box was a golden ring with an emerald cut into the shape of a howling wolf. Gasping she was speechless so she nodded and as he stood she pulled him into a loving hug, he hugged her back and noticed the strange rounded shape of her belly but decided not to comment, instead he smiled and put the ring on the fourth finger of her left hand with a quiet "Thank-you".

When they got back they told Bruce and Alfred the good news and she showed off her ring, she could tell by there reactions that they were either in on it, or they had suspected it was going to happen sooner or later.

Later on Rain was sitting in bed as Dick showered, she knew she had to tell him, and soon. But she didn't know what to say, " I'm three months pregnant, sorry hun." Didn't cut it, but she couldn't think of anything else, so she didn't tell him that night either.


	10. What Baby?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Gotham wolf jumped out of the way as bombs shaped like jacks came hurtling towards her, she had barley landed when more came her way, this time she was caught in the small explosion and throw into one of the walls of the surrounding buildings. With a gasp for breath and a growl Ember Rain was on her feet again and continuing the chase, since Joker was on foot she had the upper hand, being faster then humans in wolf form. Quickly gaining on him she leapt onto his back, a moment before impact he turned around, giving himself the upper hand, when he hit the ground he kicked his legs up and caused her to flip off him. Rain landed on her back and rolled to her side, gasping for air she turned back to her human form and began pushing herself back to her feet, but Joker was already up and he kicked in the side causing her to fall once again.

Joker approached Ember Rain grinning and laughing; he said something that she couldn't make out as he picked her up by the front of her costume,

"Yes, defiantly less lively then before, you're no fun any more," he pulled a sad face then grinned again, " oh well." He then threw her into the wall on his right, she yelled with pain as she hit.

There was a "thump" and Joker went flying sideways, Robin growled and attacked him with his staff again, he knew he should have come faster, but there was no point in beating himself up about it, so instead he kicked Jokers ass. When Joker finally retreated he went to the Gotham Wolf, Batman was already with her,

" How is she?" he asked his voice filled with worry,

" I'm not sure, she may have a concussion." Robin swore and kneeled beside the girl in a wolf-like costume and gently picked her up,

" Lets get her back, we can decide what to do from there." Batman agreed and led the way to the car, which he drove with unnecessary speed back to the Bat Cave.

Dick took Rain up to her room and he changed her cloths, then he brought her downstairs, Bruce informed him that Alfred had the car ready, so he took her out and gently placed her in the back seat where he sat beside her with his arms around her small body. Bruce was in the front passenger side and Alfred drove. Ten minuets later they were pulling into the emergency room parking lot, they all got out, Dick carrying Rain, and went inside. She was put on a bed with wheels and a doctor and two nurses wheeled her away, and left the three men in the waiting room. Unnerved after only a few minuets Dick was fiercely pacing the room and running the fingers of his right hand through his hair, Bruce and Alfred however were a bit calmer, Alfred sat in a chair in the corner and read a magazine while Bruce also sat he didn't read, he swayed back and forth and wrung his hands together.

Finally after a half and hour wait the doctor came out and asked Bruce,

" Are you the girls immediate family?" Bruce nodded then told him,

" I'm her Father, and this," he gestured to Dick, " is her fiancé, and Alfred is her godfather." The doctor considered the three of them for a moment then continued,

" Well her and the baby will be fine, she has a minor-" he was cut off by Dick,

" The baby?" he asked loudly,

" Yes, the baby. They are both going to be okay, she has a minor concussion and I would like to hold her overnight, for further examination. But you're welcome to see her now, we only ask that you go in one at a time please." When he finished Bruce and Alfred were both looking at Dick who was watching the doctor closely, when the doctor left he looked at them and knew that they had had no idea either. Bruce sighed,

" You should go in first Dick." He agreed and went to the room that the nurse had indicated, when he entered he saw her laying on a bed with white sheets and a big white pillow, her eyes were open, and he saw her head move slightly as her entered.

" Hey, how are you?" he asked gently as he came closer, he stopped at the edge of the bed, she smiled,

" I think I'm alright, I've got the worst headache though." He smiled back then said,

" Well the doctor says you'll be fine, and so will the baby." He saw her smile fall,

" I'm sorry, I wanted to tell you, but I didn't know what to say…" He leaned down and gently kissed her forehead,

" I know, love, I forgive you."

Over the next few days it became common knowledge that Rain wolf, adopted daughter of Bruce Wayne, was pregnant with Dick Gracien's child. Rain didn't really like the way people used her as the latest gossip, one night almost a week after she was released from the hospital she had been reading a magazine and had come across her own name several times, there were little clips that said things like, " Is Rain Wolf really who she says she is?" and " Wolf's eyes of emerald green: Natural or result of substance abuse?" there were more but Rain couldn't read them due to the tears that were blurring her vision. Growling Rain threw the magazine across the room and wiped away the tears before they slid down her cheeks, with another growl of fury Rain started pacing the room trying to walk it off, when her attempt failed she resorted to punching the wall, she did this several times, and it seemed to be helping, but soon Dick came hurtling into the room looking worried, when he saw her punching the wall repeatedly he gently grabbed her arms and made her sit on the bed. Not until she was sitting with Dick's arms around her did she notice the blood dripping from her knuckles.

" Shh. Hey now, what's wrong?" he asked with a gentle voice, she took a deep breath and told him about the gossip and rumors and how she can't stand the way they talk about her.


	11. Kidnapped Again

The days went by and Rain found her self feeling very moody and knew she was difficult to live with for the three men but they stayed by her even when she was yelling at them for something stupid. Soon her and Dick were planning their wedding with occasional input from Bruce or Alfred, she liked to hear their opinions on things like colours, silver wear, and location.

Before she knew it their wedding was planned and she was eight and a half months pregnant, she knew the babies (an ultra-sound revealed that she was carrying twins) could decide they wanted out anytime now, and it kind of scared her, she didn't know if she was ready to be a mother of two yet, but weather she was ready or not she was going to be.

Rain sighed and sat down on her favorite couch, it was a beautiful Saturday in June, Bruce had a meeting and Dick had gone shopping and had taken Alfred with him, at first he wasn't sure if he should go and leave her home alone, but she insisted that he needed to get out and have some fun, she felt guilty, the last four months he had been at her beck and call and had taken all of her " abuse" for lack of better word, without complaint, and she knew there was more to come once they got the babies home. Wanting something to do Rain stood up and went out to the garden, all the flowers were in bloom and everywhere she looked was an explosion of colour, amidst the display of flowers and blossoming trees was a waterfall like fountain, at the bottom of which there was a small pond littered with lily-pads and flower petals. Rain sat in front of the pond and admired the affect; looking into the water she saw two large orange and white fish, and one black fish swimming around. Smiling Rain continued to watch, but something caught her eye in the reflection of the water, she gasped seeing the person behind her.

The car pulled into the driveway late in the afternoon, Dick jumped out first and ran up to the house, he had had a bad feeling all day and was very anxious to make sure Rain was alright, Bruce and Alfred weren't far behind him. Once inside the split up, Dick looked in the living room that she usually occupied when she had nothing better to do, but it was empty, so he moved on to the kitchen, empty too. Getting worried he met up with the other two by the exit to the garden,

" Did you find her?" he asked a little out of breath, they both shook their heads and looked at the door, Dick opened it and the three of them stepped out into the garden. Dick nearly had a heart attack from what he saw, lying on the ground near the pond was a body with it's back to them; the body had blood on it as did the ground around it. They ran as fast as they could, Dick got there first, he stopped abruptly in front of the body and went down on one knee, and he let out a sigh of relief, "It's not her." He looked up at the other two and they all turned around looking towards the trees and bushes. Dick looked at the ground and saw a bloody paw print, he looked in the direction it was pointing and walked slowly toward the clump of willow trees, but he stopped when he heard a low growl, Bruce turned and looked in the direction as well and came up beside Dick,

" Rain, it's okay, it's us." He said softly,

" Hunny, c'mon out, we're here, you're safe now." They heard a low whine and saw Rain step out of the cover of the trees, her jet-black fur matted with blood. They moved forward and kneeled on either side of her as she changed back, together they helped her to her feet and then inside, Rain cried silently into Bruce's shoulder, they took her into the living room and put her on the couch,

" Shh, shh, hush now, it's okay, you're alright." They held her between them as she cried herself to sleep, Alfred brought a blanket down and covered them with it, and it wasn't long before Dick was sleeping and Bruce was halfway there. But he continued to wonder who that man was and why he was there; he also wondered what they were going to do about him. He knew they would have to call the police, but he wondered, could Rain be arrested for manslaughter? The question taunted him until; finally, he fell into a light doze. While they slept Alfred reported the incident, he told the police that she was home alone when the man attacked her; luckily she had one of the dogs with her. It wasn't long before two police officers were there as well as an ambulance; the officers took a few pictures of the man before searching him for I.D. but they found none, so they took fingerprints then okayed it for the paramedics to take him.

The police were gone by the time Rain woke later that evening, her stomach growled and she laughed when Bruce's replied. Her quiet laughter caused dick to slowly lift his head from her shoulder and look at her with squinted eyes

" What's so funny?" his voice was thick with sleep,

" Nothing." Was her simple reply, he shrugged and gently kissed her cheek as Bruce began to stir. With a groan he opened his eyes and smiled at the other two, but before he could say anything Alfred entered the room with a warm smile,

" Diner's ready if you're hungry." All three groaned as they stood and stretched,

" Thanks Alfred." Bruce clapped his hand on Alfred's shoulder and they all went to the kitchen to eat. Over diner Alfred told them what he told the police and what they had said, they were all relieved that Alfred had dealt with it, he always seemed to know just what to do and say. He informed them that Rain could not be found responsible because the man was trespassing, and had attacked her, so the blame was on him; the dog was even looked at and congratulated on a job well done.

Later that evening Dick and Bruce left to do hero stuff, so it was just Rain and Alfred at home, they were sitting quietly in a homely decorated room just off the main hall, Rain was reading one of her many baby books, and Alfred was folding laundry. When the doorbell rang they both looked up, when Rain went to get to her feet Alfred smiled,

" That's quite alright Ms. I'll get it." She smiled and leaned back,

" You can stop calling me "miss" Alfred, it makes me feel old." He simply nodded as he stepped out of the room and towards the front door. After a few moments of silence Rain heard the door open, then muffled voices, followed by a heart-stopping thud. Rain froze when she heard the sound. Sitting stalk still Rain listened, she heard a female voice call out,

" Search the place! And bring me the girl." Rain gulped and crouched down low to the floor, waiting for the door to swing open. When it did, it wasn't a man, or a woman standing in the doorframe, but a long thick vine. Her eyes grew wide as she stumbled back on her butt, she watched the vine dart towards her and managed to avoid it at the last second, but it changed course and came at her again, this time successfully wrapping around her. With a panicked scream Rain felt the vine tighten a fraction before dragging her out of the room and to the main entrance. Standing at the bottom of the steps was a tall woman with long red hair; her dress was knee length and very low cut, and looked to be made out of large green leaves.

Ivy smiled when she saw Rain wrapped in the vine," I see you've met my friend, he's not much for conversation but he's a great listener." Rain scoffed at her words,

" What do you want with me?"

" Oh but I don't want you at all, I want what you have, a certain man that you have." Rain stiffened,

" You want Dick?" she asked tentatively,

" Well you're close, I want his other side. You know what I'm talking about, don't you G. Wolf." Ivy's words stung Rain, everyone knew that she had a thing for Robin, but Rain hadn't thought she go this far, not on her own anyway.

A van pulled up to them and the door opened to reveal Harley, she smiled and gestured for Ivy to get in. Moments later Rain was in the back of the van still trapped in Ivy's vine while Harley drove and Ivy sat in the passenger seat, they were talking quietly but Rain wasn't listening, she was trying to figure out what she was going to do. She knew she had to worn Dick but didn't know how, she continued pondering her situation and why Harley was helping Ivy until the van stopped. Looking out the window Rain saw an old warehouse,

" What's with bad guys and old warehouses?" she asked under her breath before she was dragged inside. The inside was just how Rain had predicted, covered in large leafy plants and beautiful, exotic looking, flowers that she knew were probably dangerous to any one but Ivy.

With a soft "thud" the vine dropped Rain in a cage high enough for her to stand and large enough for her to take four steps in each direction. Ivy laughed triumphantly as she watched Rain glare at her from the floor of the cage.

" You think you're such a smart little girl don't you? Well guess what honey, you're not as smart as you think." Ivy's expression showed pure pleasure at seeing Rain in the cage.

" What are you talking about? I never claimed to be smart." At this Ivy laughed again, he voice rang in Rain's ears, Ivy knew something, something Rain didn't, " What is it you're dying to tell me Ivy?"

" Dying to tell you? Why would I want to tell you anything? I doubt you could even understand half the things I have to say, your mind is too… miniscule." Rain rolled her eyes,

" I'll do my best." Her voice dripped with sarcasm as she came closer to the bars of the cage so she and Ivy were face to face.

" Well let's just say, by the end of tonight, Robin, or should I say Dick Gracien, will be mine." At this Rain's lip curled into a snarl,

"He'll never be with you." The venom in her voice got a raised brow from Ivy,

" You might want to calm down, you wouldn't want to cause the child any discomfort." Rain cursed silently and tried to calm herself, but something about the way Ivy was looking at her made her uneasy.

" What are you planning?" Ivy thought for a moment before smiling and chuckling,

" Oh it's too good not to tell you. You are going to have your child tonight, I know this for a fact, and what I'm going to do is take your baby, and claim it as mine. Then I'll tell Robin that the baby's mine, and he will feel responsible and because you're gone, he'll be with me." A frown creased Rain's brow as Ivy laughed again,

" I don't see how he'd feel responsible, there's no way you could have his baby unless..." Her voice trailed away

" Unless we made love," Ivy leaned close to the bars so their faces were only a few inches apart, " and it was the best I ever had." Rain's face darkened and a feral look came into her eyes,

" He wouldn't!"

" Oh really? Then how come I know he likes to kiss the soft, sensitive skin under his lover's jaw?" Rain froze as angry tears filled her eyes.

Slowly shaking her head she backed away from where Ivy was standing and sat on the other side of the cage as a hundred emotions flowed through her. Satisfied Ivy went over to a group of monitors and addressed Harley,

" Are they back yet?"

" Nope."

" Excellent."

" When are you going to give her the shot?"

" Soon."

[A/N] Sorry it's taken so long to update, I hadn't realized that " What Baby" had been the last chapter I'd added. so I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I hope to finish this story soon...ish. I already have the next chapter done, but I'll wait to post it, in case I decide to change somthing. thanks for your patience, it's much appriciated.


	12. Second Thoughts

" Bleep, bleep, bleep." Batman pressed a button on his belt to turn on his communication device, and Robin did the same.

" What is it?" he asked in his deep raspy voice.

" They took her sir." Alfred's voice was hurried with panic, guilt, and concern

" They took who?" Batman asked, even though he was sure he knew, as he waited for Alfred's response his insides seemed to tangle together into a big knot, and judging by the look on his partners face he felt the same.

" Rain, master Bruce, she took Rain!" Alfred's voice was hoarse,

" Who took her Alfred?" Robin demanded, his muscles tense.

" Ivy sir." Before he had even finished saying the name Robin had jumped from the building they had been standing on, Batman closely following behind him,

" Alfred, turn on her locator and send us her position." He instructed as the ground rushed up to meet him.

Before hitting the ground Robin spread his cape and let it catch the air, slowing his fall, as Batman did the same. There was a beep from their left wrists and they both looked down to see a set of coordinates, then with one glance at each other, and a quick nod they were off, Batman in his car, and Robin on his motorcycle.

Rain sat in her cage, teeth clenched, and breathing overly controlled, and her thoughts running rampant. '_He couldn't have, why would he?' _She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn't notice Ivy come up behind her until she inserted the needle into her shoulder. Rain jerked away and jumped to her feet turning to growl at Ivy, who laughed triumphantly.

Rain didn't know what it was that Ivy gave her, but she knew it couldn't be good. Sitting in the middle of the cage she watched Ivy closely, she sat like that for a few minuets, wondering what was going to happen, until her water broke. Ivy gave her a drug to induce labour.

The first contraction came hard causing her whole body to quake. Rain grit her teeth and reached out with her mind, searching for Bruce's consciousness. She would have normally sought both men, but she didn't trust herself to not do anything irrational if she was to go inside her fiancé's mind, she was also afraid of what she might find if she searched his memories.

Finding Bruce, Rain prodded his mind, asking him to open it so she could "speak" with him, after a brief moment he allowed her in.

"_We're coming for you_." He told her with his mind, he didn't have to speak the words, simply think them with the intention of her getting the message.

_" Please come quickly, the babies are coming_." At that moment a second contraction rattled her body, and the pain crossed their link and into him. He felt her pain, as it tore through him he gripped the steering wheel of the Bat mobile more tightly, now he knew why women were so jealous that men didn't have to give birth.

" What's wrong?" He heard Dick ask over the Com..

" Don't you feel that?" He questioned through steadying breaths.

" Feel what Bruce? C'mon, we have to get going, god knows what Ivy's doing to her." Dick's words perplexed Bruce for a moment, but only for a moment,

" _Why haven't you told Dick?_" he asked Rain with concern,

" _I'll explain later, just please hurry._" Bruce sighed inwardly,

" _Alright._" He agreed before saying to Dick, " You're right, we should pick up the pace."

Rain kept her breathing steady as she leaned her back against the cage again. Gripping the bars with her hands Rain waited for the next contraction to wrack her body, and sure enough it came. Lacing pain through her hips and back that spread through the rest of her body.

Ivy smirked at her pain, and laughed to her self at how easy it was to sew doubt into her, and convince her that her plan was to win Robin with the child. It would be quite difficult since she had never made love with him. No, her plan was simpler then that, she would simply kill them, but keep the child for herself; it was much less hassle then adopting from one of those stupid agencies. Looking over at Harley she thought about why she had agreed to help.

**_Flashback_**

Ivy sat in the park with her face buried in her hands as Harley and The Joker discussed their most recent thwarting.

Seeing Ivy, apparently crying, Harley approached, curious as to why Ivy would be crying? She wasn't the one who had gotten her ass kicked.

" What's the matter sugar?" she inquired, coming to a stop in front on Ivy, her head tilted to one side.

" It's not fair." She said, " I never get the men I want, they always end up with some floozy." Knowing how Ivy felt Harley sat beside her and gently rubbed her back

" There, there sugar, you'll get your man."

Raising her head to look Harley in the eyes Ivy asked, " Will you help me get Robin?" she asked, a desperate note in her voice.

"Sure, why not? What did you have in mind?"

**_End of Flashback_**

Harley looked at the girl in the cage, her long black hair on the floor around her head, which was now resting on the hard ground. She knew what it was like to not be able to have the man you wanted, she had to fight for The Joker for the longest time, but she also knew what it was like to lose a child, she was torn, _I s'pose Ivy did see the bird boy first. _Harley contemplated her dilemma as she watched the girl in the cage cringe at the pain of her contractions, which were steadily growing closer together.

Rain took deep breaths and tried not to think about what Ivy had said, for if she did she knew she wouldn't stop. So instead Rain concentrated on the babies, so far so good, all things considered.

Batman and Robin could see the building now; they were crouched behind a low wall on the roof of the small office building beside the warehouse Rain was being held in. Robin was anxious to get Rain out of there; he didn't want to think about what they had planned for her, he knew what Ivy was like, she would do what it took to get what she wanted. Batmans thoughts were along the same line as his young partner, the difference was he knew the urgency of the rescue.

The two men crept along the rooftop until they had a clear view of the entrance to the warehouse. With a quick glance at one another, each knowing what the other is thinking, they shot their grapple hooks into the opposing building. Nodding to each other they jumped in a swirl of black and red capes and swung down, they both stopped themselves against the building with their feet, and went their unspoken ways. Robin climbed up to a narrow window, while Batman jumped down, releasing the rope that held him to the building.

Silently Batman made his way in to the building; he stayed in the shadows to avoid detection, as he snuck along the shadowed wall until he was stopped by what looked like a cage, he peered through the bars and saw Rain lying near the wall, her breathing coming in deep steady breaths. " Rain, we're here, we're going to get you out." He whispered so quietly no human would have been able to hear him, but Rains heightened hearing allowed her to hear his assurance. With great care batman retreated behind the foliage that was Ivys creation, and observed the area through a gap in the leaves.

A/N okay, so his is only half the chapter I had written, but unfortunatly I don't have the other half anymore T.T ( which was amazing) so now I have to re-write what happens next, so it might be a while before I update again because I **_Hate_** re-writing. I don't write somthing, unless I love it, and I loved that chapter, so re-writing might take some major insperation. thought I'd warn you. thanks for reading ^.^


	13. take down

Robin climbed in through the window and dropped down onto the platform that ran along the back wall of the warehouse soundlessly. He stalked to the rail and looked down, he could see Rain in a cage by the far wall, he could tell that something was wrong with her and his hart started to race as he began to panic. Her cage was partially surrounded by huge plants, and through the leaves and stalks he could see a dark smudge that he knew was Batman, seeing him there made Robin feel better.

Shifting his gaze Robin looked at a large desk that held a number of monitors and other electrical equipment. He could see Ivy sitting on a tree trunk that was growing sideways, her legs swinging under her and her eyes closed. Harley was standing a few feet away looking confused and upset, '_since when do Ivy and Harley hang out?' _he asked himself before deciding it wasn't important at the moment. Getting Rain and making sure her and the babies are alright was the most important thing, no matter what.

He crept along the platform so he was as close as possible to Ivy. She was at least twenty-five feet from the edge of the platform; Robin knew it would give her time to move between when he jumped and when he landed, so he hoped that she wouldn't open her eyes until he was right there. He could see Batman at the edge of the foliage, waiting for him to jump before he grabbed the clown.

Taking deep breaths Robin tried to focus on what he had to do right now, he tried to push Rain into the back of his mind so he could focus on Ivy; but every time he tried he experienced a huge wave of guilt, which brought her right back to the forefront of his thoughts and caused his heart to pound and anger pulsed through him. Gripping the rail in front of him Robin took a deep breath and thought to himself, '_I have to deal with Ivy before I can help Rain._' He released his breath and looked at Ivy, focusing on her, her weaknesses and strengths. Without thinking about it he pushed himself up and stepped on the rail, launching his body through the air towards the woman who had stolen his love from him.

Batman made his way to the edge of the indoor jungle where Ivy and Harley were. From his spot in the trees and other plants he could see Robin making his way along the ledge and stop above the small open space where the electrical equipment was. He watched as his partner froze. Worry blossomed in his chest, as he wondered if Robin could see something that he could not that made him stop and hesitate. So Batman waited in the shadows of the plants as Robin stared down from the ledge. When he finally jumped Batman released his worried breath and reached out and grabbed Harley, who had been standing fairly close to him looking at Ivy.

He put one hand over her mouth as the other grabbed her arm and pulled it behind her. He felt her surprised gasp under his hand as he pulled her back into him, though she didn't struggle against him.

Robin fell towards Ivy in what felt like slow motion. He saw Batman reach out and grab Harley from the corner of his eye, but he was focused on Ivy. Her perceived triumph all over her face, and posture. He held his breath as he fell, the tension building in his body, until, finally, he collided with her.

Pulling her arms above her Robin knocked Ivy off her tree and onto the ground, so he was straddling her and holding her arms against the ground. She struggled against him, but he held her firmly, he could feel her pulse under his hands. His eyes moved from her arms to her face and he was surprised to see the fury in her expression. If looks could kill, he would be dead.

Batman secured Harley and freed Rain, he picked her up of the floor, cradling her in his arms. It wasn't as easy as it was before due to her belly, and sight squirming.


End file.
